Universities would for the first time be able to recruit high-profile academics from abroad by offering them salaries above the standard rates under a plan from the Higher Education Authority. Many Irish universities have had difficulty in recruiting academics in disciplines such as information technology and genetics because they cannot compete with the rates of pay at larger international universities and in the private sector.
Under a document sent to universities, the HEA is proposing a departure from the common pay scale for academics who are difficult to recruit in "current market conditions".
Pay rates for lecturers have traditionally been tied to public servants and have to be approved by the Ministers for Finance and Education. However, huge increases in pay in the private sector have placed universities everywhere in a difficult position when trying to recruit top academics, sources said yesterday.
The HEA has sent its plan to the universities and if they decide to implement it they will be given discretion to set the rate needed to recruit the candidate they want. The plan would only apply in certain high-demand areas and could also be used to recruit Irish staff who are currently in the private sector.
While professors and associate professors in Irish universities earn between £41,000 and £67,000, their equivalents in the US can earn considerably more.
Many in the Irish university sector have voiced concern about difficulties competing with the private sector and other institutions. They claim it has restrained developments in some disciplines. However, others strongly support retaining the common pay-rate system.
Under the framework document from the HEA, institutions could pay above the standard rates where the college can demonstrate it needs to offer a special rate in order to recruit the individual it wants. However, those on the special rates would have to work on a contractual basis.
The general secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, Mr Daltun O Ceallaigh, said his members would be having a debate on the issue ahead of any final move by university managements.
"We wouldn't want special rates for some lecturers to be at the expense of increases for others," he said. He said the details of the HEA plan would have to be studied closely.
Many second-level and primary teachers have been concerned for some time about the common pay scale in their sectors being broken. Lecturing staff at third level have been far more supportive of the national pay deals with university teachers federation members voting for the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness by 90 per cent.