Cost of overpaying university managers not disclosed

ALMOST 30 university managers and researchers are being paid above agreed salary scales but higher education officials have refused to reveal the entire cost to taxpayers.

The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) has found out from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) that 19 people in six colleges are in receipt of the packages.

Their names were released following a freedom of information request, but the authority has refused to divulge the amounts.

A salary framework for university staff was agreed in 2000 and colleges must notify the HEA if there are any departures from these.

The union found out under FOI legislation earlier this year that 10 staff at University College Dublin were being paid €2.4 million a year between them, including one whose salary, bonuses and pension benefits topped €400,000.

General secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, Mike Jennings, said the figures and the number of personnel involved will further hit morale among academic staff who got no increases under public service benchmarking last year.

“The HEA has provided us with the names of all of those who have been awarded exceptionally high levels of pay. However, all of these salaries are paid from public funds but the HEA is stubbornly refusing to reveal the money amounts involved.

“This level of secrecy is unacceptable and is a direct attack on the principles of openness and transparency,” Mr Jennings said.

The Irish Examiner learned last night that the people on the increased salaries include Roger Whatmore, chief executive of University College Cork’s Tyndall Institute; Professor Chris Dainty and Christoph Bussler at National University of Ireland Galway; Paul Moynagh at NUI Maynooth and Andrew Fowler in University of Limerick. Also included are Trinity College Dublin’s Professor Seamus Martin and John Pethica and Ian Marison from Dublin City University.

A HEA spokesperson last night rejected the accusation of secrecy and said it had refused to disclose the payments because of contract confidentiality.

“There are also competition issues arising if we start revealing salary levels and it’s disappointing IFUT would preepmt the outcome of its FOI appeal against our refusal. There have only been 33 departures from the salary framework since 2000, which is a small number out of 10,000 people in the university sector,” he said.

IFUT has indicated it will raise the issue in the upcoming social partnership talks. Most university presidents were given increases of 17% in a recent pay review, bringing their salaries to between €236,000 and €270,000.