Spending cuts force university jobs freeze

THE first effects of the Government’s order to cut spending in third-level colleges have emerged in a jobs embargo at National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth.

College president Professor John Hughes has told senior management, in a letter seen by the Irish Examiner, that he is reluctantly imposing a freeze on recruitment until further notice.

The directive follows Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe’s instruction to higher education bosses last month to slash pay bills by 3% as part of Government spending cuts in response to the economic slowdown.