University College Dublin (UCD) president Dr Hugh Brady says a draft agreement designed to prevent the poaching of staff among the universities could lead to a cosy cartel.
In a lengthy statement to The Irish Times this weekend, he says UCD is "strongly committed to working with the other Irish universities to develop a world-class collaborative Irish university system. We already have a strong track record in this regard: eg Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training.
"The Higher Education Authority (HEA) asked the Irish Universities Association (IUA) for its position on mobility of researchers. In the same letter, the HEA endorsed the European Charter for Researchers which explicitly recognises the importance of mobility of researchers to an internationally successful R&D system. UCD supports the European charter," he said.
"A draft protocol on this issue is under discussion at the IUA. It is our view that the draft protocol strays into other areas and would inappropriately limit . . . opportunities for Irish academics, and restrict . . . educational opportunities . . . Irish students.
"It could lead to the development of an anti-competitive cosy cartel and jeopardise Ireland's national strategic goal of establishing a world-class, highly competitive R&D sector.
"UCD has launched a major change programme to ensure that we can compete with the best international universities. I take it as a compliment that several high-profile Irish academics have applied for positions at UCD.
In response, a senior university figure was highly critical of Dr Brady's statement which was, he said, an attempt to blur the very important policy differences between UCD and other colleges.
In her statement, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin says the protocol is "necessary to respect all academic institutions in the country who are competing on an international basis for academic staff. If an Irish college succeeds in attracting international academics, it is unfair of a second Irish institution to poach them when they arrive in the country.
The aim of the PRTLI (the programme for research at third-level) and the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is to enhance the research capacity of our third-level institutions to ensure that we compete with the best on the world stage . . . Poaching of staff is not only damaging nationally but has the potential to damage our international rankings.
"The €300 million multiannual SIF is already in place to promote reform and collaboration in the sector, while the Strategy on Science Technology and Innovation is also based on institutions working in a collaborative way with each other. Rather than competing on the small stage, we should be winning on the international stage."
The poaching row has damaged relations between UCD and the other universities - at a time the Government is demanding much closer collaboration. When the Government unveiled the largest investment programme for the third-level sector in the State's history last December, there was a huge emphasis placed on the need for collaboration.
Despite this, the bitter dispute about UCD's alleged poaching has dominated the university sector for much of the past year. With tensions heightening, the HEA sought to calm the situation in June. It requested the IUA - representing the seven universities - to draw up a protocol.
In June and July, the IUA considered several draft protocols. These were drawn up by the presidents themselves and influential IUA chairman Paddy Teahon.
Appointed three years ago, Dr Brady has pushed through the most radical restructuring of UCD, provoking anger from many academics.
At the time of his appointment, he said he wanted to raise the ambition level at UCD. "There will be bumps on the road," he said. "But this is not a popularity contest."
