A former University of Limerick president has won an injunction preventing any new investigation into an allegation she had misled the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC). High Court judge Marguerite Bolger ruled Prof Kerstin Mey was entitled to an order against UL restraining any such investigation pending a full hearing of her case. Mey had made out a fair or serious issue that she will succeed at trial in establishing such an investigation is neither permitted nor required, the judge said. There was a fair or serious issue that a June 2024 settlement agreement between the parties precludes the investigation as a breach of Mey’s contractual rights under the settlement and is not required of UL within the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act, the judge said. UL, she said, seems to contend an employer has a “never-ending” statutory obligation to follow up on a protected disclosure and Mey had raised a fair or serious question there is no such obligation.The balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction, Bolger also held. While UL chancellor Brigid Laffan had argued the university faced reputational damage if the process was not permitted to proceed, Mey faced “grave” reputational damage if the injunction was refused. The judge was satisfied the process had gone “irredeemably wrong” given the arguability of Mey’s case. Allowing it proceed pending the full hearing would subject Mey to an investigation into whether she committed a serious wrongdoing in her statements to the PAC despite, on her case, having settled that and other matters by agreeing to step down as UL president and accept less favourable terms and conditions of employment.Adjourning final orders to later this month, the judge said there should be an early hearing of the full case. [ Allegation ex-UL president misled PAC over €12.5m property deal can’t be revisited, court toldOpens in new window ]Mey had been threatened with disciplinary action over due diligence and adherence to policies during the 2022 purchase of a 20-house development at Rhebogue, Co Limerick, to be rented to 80 postgraduate and research students.She was part of the UL governing body that signed off on the purchase but it was alleged she approved an additional spend on the homes beyond what the board had approved.The university paid €12.5 million for the development, valued for the Comptroller and Auditor General a year later at €6.5 million, with an “in-use” value put at €7.4 million.The purchase sparked controversy and a UL delegation was invited to appear before the PAC on May 18th, 2023. Asked by PAC why UL’s chief corporate officer (CCO) Andrew Flaherty was not in attendance, Mey said he had a long-standing engagement.Then UL vice-president Shane Kilcommins, who was also at the PAC meeting, emailed Mey and Flaherty, noting Flaherty was with the UL delegation the night beforehand and he stayed in the same hotel. Mey and Flaherty, in separate replies, said Flaherty had personal commitments on May 18th and was on a day’s leave.After a protected disclosure was made to the minister for further and higher education in August 2023, Caroline Jenkinson was appointed by a special disclosures group of UL to investigate the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Flaherty as CCO and the reply to the PAC about why he had not attended it on May 18th, 2023.In her report of April 2nd, 2024, Jenkinson was satisfied Mey and Flaherty provided her with information in a truthful and honest manner, that Mey’s answers to PAC about Flaherty’s non-attendance were factual and correct and, while he may have been in Dublin on the day in question, he was on a day’s leave and attending to personal matters.On the same day, Mey was told UL intended to proceed with disciplinary action against her regarding the Rhebogue transaction. On May 9th, 2024 a separate UL delegation including Kilcommins, then acting UL president because Mey was on sick leave, attended a second PAC meeting about the Rhebogue transaction. Mey’s lawyers contended Kilcommins made statements damaging to her reputation during that meeting.Mey and UL entered a written settlement agreement on June 14th, 2024. It provided for Mey’s resignation as president, that no disciplinary action would be brought against her and she would move to a new €175,000-a-year position as professor of visual culture.Mey initiated High Court proceedings after the special disclosures group informed her in July 2025 it had asked Jenkinson to re-examine the matters she had previously investigated.