Education Minister unaware of scale of third-level pay rates

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said today that he was not aware that more than a thousand staff in the third-level sector are paid more than €100,000.

The figures were revealed in a Sunday newspaper report during the weekend.

Minister Ruairi Quinn said that he is going to discuss the revelations with the Higher Education Authority before making a decision which may impact on future pay levels.

The Union of Students of Ireland has called on the Minister to tackle the high wages of college lecturers before going after student fees.

The Minister cautioned that he will discuss the salaries with employers before taking any further steps, however.

"We’ll be looking to see the full details of it," he stated.

"I will be discussing this matter with the Higher Education Authority, but at this point there's nothing more that I can say other than that I wasn't aware of that scale - I don't know if other people were.

"I'll be raising the matter with the HEA and we'll see what the implications for future policy are in relation to that."