“The Government has imposed a recruitment ban across the higher education sector and warned colleges that failure to comply will see them lose their funding. In a related move, both UCC and UCD have been told their deficits totalling over €35 million will no longer be tolerated. UCD has a cumulative deficit of €20 million, while the deficit at UCC is over €15 million. In recent weeks, the Higher Education Authority has told both universities to make the cuts necessary to rein in their deficits. In a letter to college heads yesterday, the HEA also said there ‘should be no filling of vacancies by recruitment, promotion or the payment of an allowance for the performance of duties at a higher level’ …” (more)
[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 2 April]