Re: Re: Developments in Cork

University Collage Cork’s prominence as one of the major players in development in the city may be under pressure if the contents of an open letter sent to staff members last week prove true. An extract from the 13 page letter on the above matter goes as follows;

The Finance Committee of the GB reported recently that the ‘unfunded’ capital deficit was 41.16 million euro. The same Finance Committee reported that UCC is likely to exceed its overdraft facility of 9 million euro on the current budget. UCC reported officially to the HEA that our current debts exceed 100 million euro. Within that 100 million, it is claimed that the 10.6 million borrowed for the Medical Building is ‘funded’, because UCC expects [in the future] to earn money from economic fee-paying students in medicine that will help pay off the debt.
Likewise, for approximately 60 million of the total debt, it is hoped that specified future earnings will help discharged the debts. None of these expectations of future possible income-streams changes the reality that:
(a) UCC is in debt to the tune of approximately 100 million euro;
(b) UCC currently pays a significant amount of its current income on interests charges;
(c) these debts will be passed on to the next generation and will seriously hinder developments because our future earnings are already committed to paying off debts incurred during your presidency. Can you confirm what UCC pays annually in interest charges on its total debts?
These figures vary from month to month, but the unfunded capital deficit has increased every year since you came into office as President. We now seem to have reached a crisis with the proposed IT Building. Can you confirm, or can you arrange for any of your officials to confirm, that the HEA and/or the Department of Education and Science has agreed to fund the costs [or some of the costs] of this building? If not, is UCC about to add an extra 60 million euro to its ‘unfunded’ capital deficit? 😮