Sir, – I wish to distance myself from the letter (December 8th) written by another UCC academic, Prof Stephen Cusack, taking to task those who criticise high salaries in the university sector.
It gave me no pleasure to note, in Peter McGuire and Seán Flynn’s report (Education Today, December 6th), that the highest number of individuals earning more than €150,000 in any Irish university work for my own employer, UCC. Unlike my colleague, however, I think it is a matter of legitimate public interest. Moreover, closer perusal of the list of these individuals shows that they are, virtually without exception, either (a) senior administrators or (b) medical academics.
These salaries are excessive by any standards and are simply unacceptable in a time of crisis for the public finances. Other colleagues on this campus, on far lower salaries, are being told their contracts are not being renewed, while many retiring staff are not being replaced. People might also be forgiven for having the mistaken impression that academics and university administrators are all over-paid, whereas the overwhelming majority are paid very much less than the privileged few. Such an impression can only add fuel to the fire in the current frenzy of public sector bashing which is so evident in certain parts of the media. – Yours, etc,