Corporate Compliance
Welcome to the Corporate Compliance section of the University's website.
The University operates in a complex and ever changing legal environment and this, taken together with a low tolerance for not meeting its legal responsibilities and obligations as set out in the DCU Risk Appetite Statement, can make achieving compliance a challenge.
To meet this challenge the University understands the importance of having strong governance in place, including a framework to identify and manage its compliance obligations.
This section of the website provides information on how the University implements that system.
The University has identified the key legislation that comprises its Corporate Compliance Framework (CCF) as referenced in the Compliance Policy.
For each piece of legislation the primary contact/Compliance Manager, and the unit or function whose responsibilities most closely aligns to the subject matter of the legislation, is also provided.
Corporate Compliance Framework
| Legislation | Primary Contact / Compliance Manager | Website link to DCU Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act | Sustainability Manager | Sustainability at DCU |
| Charities Act 2009 | Deputy COO with responsibility charities governance | Deputy COO |
| Children First Act | Deputy COO with responsibility for child protection | Child Protection |
| Companies Act 2014 | Deputy COO with responsibility for company compliance | Deputy COO |
| Control of Exports Act 2008 and Regulation (EU) 2021/821 & Regulation (EU) 2023/66 | Deputy COO with responsibility for Export Control | Export Control |
| Data Protection Acts | Data Protection Officer | Data Protection Unit |
| Finance Acts | Director of Finance | Finance Office |
| Employment Acts | Director of Human Resources | Human Resources |
| Employment Equality Acts | EDI Manager | EDI |
| Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 | Chief Operations Officer | Office of the COO |
| Freedom of Information Act 2014 | Freedom of Information Officer | FOI Unit |
| Health and Safety Acts | Health and Safety Manager | Health & Safety |
| Official Languages Act 2003 & 2021 | Irish Language Officer | Oifig na Gaeilge |
| Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012 | Ombudsman Liaison Officer | Ombudsman Liaison |
| Procurement Law (including EU Public Procurement Directive and Government Guidelines) | Director of Finance | Finance Office |
| Protected Disclosures Act 2014 | Chief Operations Officer | Office of the COO |
| Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 | Vice President for Academic Affairs/ Registrar | Academic QA & Governance |
| Universities Act 1997 | Chief Operations Officer | Office of the COO |
| Standards in Public Office Act 2001 | Chief Operations Officer | Office of the COO |
| Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 | Director of Finance | Finance Office |
| Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 | Director of Finance | Finance Office |
The University's Compliance Policy, the first of its kind in DCU, may be accessed at the link below.
The primary objective of the policy is to put in place a framework by which the University's most significant compliance obligations are identified, managed and controlled.
The detailed Compliance Procedures that are referenced in the Compliance Policy are available at the link below to staff from the Office of the Chief Operations Officer.
The Chief Operations Officer (COO) is the University’s Compliance Coordinator.
Contact the Office of the Chief Operations Officer
The COO is supported in that role by the Risk and Compliance Officer (RCO).