Students to benefit from €7m university penalties

Students are getting extra supports and improved facilities, as universities pay the price for previous unauthorised top-ups of more than €7m to senior staff.

Half the value of overpayments to more than 200 managers, researchers, and academics between 2005 and 2011, has been held back from the colleges by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) since earlier this year.

The deductions are being made across five years in six universities, while Dublin City University took the entire hit this year. Its unauthorised allowances at €53,000 were the lowest, while the figures were almost €3.3m at University College Dublin and more than €1.6m at University College Cork.