UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Dublin (UCD) has agreed to abolish a series of allowances and special payments to senior staff amid controversy over the high salaries and perks enjoyed by some academics.
Last night, UCD confirmed the college had recently concluded discussions with the Higher Education Authority which would see the abolition of special allowances for 60 staff.
Under the agreement, seven vice-presidents and five college principals will each forfeit up to €25,000 in allowances.
These college principals are: Prof Nick Quirke, head of the college of engineering, mathematical and physical sciences; Mr Paul Haran, head of the college of business and law; Prof Mary Daly, head of arts and Celtic studies; Prof Brigid Laffan, head of human sciences; and Prof Maurice Boland, head of life sciences.
The 35 heads of various schools at the college will lose between €7,000 and €18,000 per year, depending on the size of the school.
Dr Hugh Brady, the college president – who earns €220,000 a year – will lose an additional annual allowance of €12,271 per annum.
The HEA has been investigating the payments of allowances across the university sector after a report from the higher review body on pay said some may be unauthorised.
Last night, a HEA spokesman said any payments found to be unauthorised would have to be repaid in their entirety. UCD has also confirmed that special performance-related payments for about 16 senior members of staff have been abolished.
As a result, one academic – Prof Des Fitzgerald , the vice-president for research – has lost over €80,000 per annum from a salary package totalling €400,000 a year.
The college said it had discontinued the practice of paying any performance-related pay, ranging from 5 per cent to 30 per cent of salary.
The university said it did not pay any bonuses for 2008 and that it “will not be in a position to pay any performance-related pay for 2009.”
Earlier this year, the Irish Federation of University Teachers revealed how 10 senior staff at UCD were earning over €2 million between them.
They included Prof Tom Begley, dean of the Business School, who had a total pay and pensions package of €296,000.
UCD is entitled to pay these salary levels under a special framework agreement with the HEA; this is designed to help colleges match the rates of pay available in other countries.
In all, 33 staff across the university sector are in receipt of these special payments including 10 at UCD.
Unions, representing 3,500 staff at UCD, have raised concerns about the salary packages awarded to senior academics and administrators.
The college, which has embarked on a vigorous cost-cutting programme, has an accumulated debt of about €13 million.