The dispute among the universities about the alleged "poaching" of key academics by UCD could scarcely come at a worse time for the sector. After years of under-funding, the Government finally delivered an unprecedented level of support - more than €1 billion - in the last Budget.
This was the biggest investment in third-level education in the State's history, largely made in response to an impressive pre-Budget submission from the Irish Universities' Association (IUA), the group which represents the seven college heads. The submission made much of the need for deeper collaboration between the universities, the need to identify areas of expertise and to avoid unnecessary duplication of resources.
Nine months on, instead of pulling together, the university sector appears to be in turmoil. Senior figures are talking openly about a breakdown in trust between UCD and its counterparts. As things stand, UCD president Dr Hugh Brady is reluctant to sign a draft protocol drawn up by the IUA which would prohibit the active "poaching" of staff outside the normal, open recruitment process. Dr Brady, a former associate professor of medicine at Harvard, says UCD is "strongly committed to working with the other Irish universities to develop a world-class collaborative Irish university system". The draft protocol, he warns, could lead to the development of an anti-competitive cosy cartel.
It is clear that Dr Brady's first priority is to enhance the stature of UCD and bring it within the top rank of universities in Europe. At present, it is outside the world's top 200. In a relatively short period, he has achieved a good deal in UCD, not least pushing through the most radical overhaul of academic structures in the college's 150-year history. But does his claim that the draft protocol is anti-competitive stand up to scrutiny? The protocol actively encourages mobility between academics through the normal public recruitment process. What it prohibits is the targeting of academics who have been specifically recruited to this State by individual colleges.
It is worth remembering that the Irish university system is a relatively small one which cannot always accommodate the kind of aggressive approach to recruitment which is so common in the US. This point made by Minister for Education Mary Hanafin is well-judged. If an Irish college succeeds in attracting international academics, it is unfair for a second Irish institution to poach them when they arrive in the country. Battle lines between the universities serve no purpose for the colleges themselves or the students they are supposed to serve. The real challenge is to compete internationally.