Researchers ‘forced to emigrate’ by lure of higher redundancy payout

Ireland’s brightest researchers will have to emigrate because of the lure of higher redundancy if they agree not to work in the public service for another two years, a union claims.

Branding the new rules set by Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin in June as an “emigration clause”, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) says it already knows of a handful of researchers to have taken it up. But general secretary Mike Jennings said the number could reach hundreds before the end of the year.

“I know one high flyer whose contract at an Irish college is coming to an end, who has an offer of work at an Irish university or in the UK. But with the incentive of the increased redundancy, the choice was simple,” he said.