DCU President overpaid more than €18,000 in last four years

Gordon Deegan

The President of Dublin City University (DCU), Prof Daire Keogh, has been overpaid over a four-year period due to an administrative calculation error.

That is according to the consolidated 2025 DCU annual financial statements, which confirm that once the calculation error was identified and confirmed last month (June 2026), “the salary was adjusted for future payments”.

Prof Keogh has served as DCU President since July 2020, and the note adds that an immediate repayment plan was put in place for the amount of monies received by the President totalling €18,900 and covering approximately a four-year period.

The note attached to the report states that under the repayment plan, all amounts received will be repaid by the President by July 31st of this year.

The note states that the salary overpayment arose “due to an administrative calculation error linked to FEMPI restoration and subsequent pay award application”.

The report states that the remuneration - excluding amounts payable under the DCU model public sector pension scheme - of the University President in the 12 months to the end of September last was €243,933.

The report also reveals that DCU has written off €4.38m (incl VAT) incurred on professional fees for a proposed new student accommodation building following a decision not to proceed with the development.

The €4.38m write-off attracts the notice of the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy in his report accompanying the financial statements.

The annual report shows that despite the €4.38 million write-off, DCU’s surplus last year increased by 92 per cent from €8.09 million to €15.5 million.

The sharp rise in surplus followed DCU’s income for the 12 months to the end of September last rising by 15pc from €297.7m to €342 million.

The report states that excluding a capital donation for a building project, income rose by 11 per cent.

The accounts show that State grant funding rose from €68.2m to €76.16m while academic fee income increased from €112.3 million to €123 million.

The university’s income from residences rose marginally from €12.54 million to €12.84 million.

In his President’s report, Prof Daire Keogh states that the surplus for the year “funds capital investment which has long-term benefits for the Group”.

A note attached to the accounts on the €4.38 million write-off state it has been recognised from non-exchequer sources against expenditures incurred to date at approved decision gates on the new on-campus student accommodation project.

The note states that “Due to construction inflation, the project is awaiting a funding solution that can deliver affordable accommodation for students. The provision may be reversible in a future financial year, should the project proceed to delivery”.

The note states that the University continues to work with all stakeholders in seeking to increase the supply of affordable purpose-built accommodation for students, with planning permission in place for developments at the University's Glasnevin campus until 2029.

It states that in May 2026, the University provided projects with planning permission for 1,235 beds to the Higher Education Institutions Student Accommodation Programme, under the recently launched Department’s “National Student Accommodation Strategy 2026-2035".

In his reference to the write-off, Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr McCarthy wrote that the €4.38m write-off arose on professional fees incurred for a proposed project to construct a new student accommodation building following a decision not to proceed with the development.

Staff costs at DCU last year increased by 8.5 per cent from €189.15 million to €205.43 million as numbers employed increased from 2,204 to 2,296.

Numbers earning over €100,000 rose from 348 to 545 that included 80 earning over €150,000.

Pay to key management personnel last year totalled €2.64m compared to €2.45 million in 2024.

A note states that total staff costs includes €186,538 payable to certain subsidiary company staff as part of incentivisation plans to deliver non-exchequer income generation within the DCU commercial group of companies.

At the end of September 2025, the DCU group had reserves of €288 million that included cash of €99.67m.