Ninth Level Ireland

“A chara, – The creation of 75 women-only professorships is a textbook example of how members of the higher socio-economic classes who have connections and influence in political and media circles can bend the the Government into making irrational and fiscally irresponsible decisions to their advantage, with all parties assuming the taxpayer will foot the substantial bill …” (more)

[Dave Slater, Irish Times, 25 July]

“Within a year, a pay gap emerged between male and female graduates, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show. Men who graduated from higher education here in 2012 were earning an average weekly wage of €425 the year after they graduated – €1,055 a year more than women who graduated at the same time …” (more)

[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 18 July]

“Technology graduates are earning significantly more than other graduates within five years of leaving college, according to major study by the Central Statistics Office. The CSO survey tracked the earnings of hundreds of thousands of graduates who left college between 2012 and 2016 using income recorded through the PAYE system …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 19 July]

“Jonathan O’Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the planned unwinding of FEMPI measures in line with the Public Service Stability Agreement for each of the years 2019 to 2023 disaggregated by wage bracket …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 25 June]

“The Government will face claims for special pay rises of 6% from staff in the public service as compensation if it does not roll back additional working hours introduced after the economic crisis, one of the country’s main unions has warned …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 8 May]

“The Government will face down any union demands to abolish the pension levy which was imposed on public sector workers during the financial crash, the Sunday Independent has learnt. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will vehemently oppose any changes to pension contributions paid by public sector workers during future pay talks with unions …” (more)

[Philip Ryan and Ralph Riegel, Independent, 5 May]

“The Government will be very relieved the dispute by 40,000 nurses which caused chaos in the country’s hospital system this year has been brought to a close. However, the settlement has come at a significant price, about €50 million over this year and next year, and potentially more depending on whether offsetting productivity measures materialise …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 2 May]

“Public service unions have had discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure on a review of the pay terms set out in the agreement for State employees, informed sources have said. Minister of Education Joe McHugh said on Tuesday he was aware that the parties to the Public Service Stability Agreement were engaged in exploratory discussions …” (more)

[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 25 April]

“Teachers will now battle for equal pensions for recent recruits after securing a Government commitment to address two-tier pay. They are also lining up their demands for a pay rise now their nine-year battle to achieve full wage equality appears to be moving into its final phase …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Katherine Donnelly and Ralph Riegel, Independent, 24 April]

“The Teacher’s Union of Ireland (TUI) warned the Government that while moves to increase pay for young teachers is welcome and overdue, ongoing pay inequality will not be tolerated. TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann warned delegates at their annual conference in Killarney that the Government must realise that teacher unions will not tolerate pay inequality under any circumstances …” (more)

[Ralph Riegel, Independent, 23 April]

“The Government has signalled that it will move to end the two-tier pay system in the public service as part of future negotiations with trade unions. Two initiatives have been tabled to deal with the lower-pay arrangements for staff hired after 2011, including a phased €200 million proposal announced last September to resolve the issue by 2026 …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 22 April]

“Teachers’ unions are threatening industrial action if the Government does not make a firm commitment over the coming days to restore pay equality for thousands of their members hired since 2011. The warning comes as teachers’ annual conferences get under way this week with pay rates for so-called ‘new entrants’ set to dominate the agenda …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 22 April]

“A degree is worth an average €106,000 in a university graduate’s pocket, rising to more than double, €220,000, if they go all the way to a PhD. The figures represent the average value of a third-level qualification over a lifetime, when compared with a school-leaver and take account of the cost of college and deductions such as tax …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 4 April]

“Graduates from Irish universities stand to earn a slightly higher wage premium compared with graduates from some of the UK’s most prestigious universities over the course of their lifetime, according to new research. The average lifetime net premium for an undergraduate degree holder from an Irish university has been estimated at €106,000 by research firm Indecon …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 4 April]

“Staff at Queen’s University in Belfast are to be paid their salaries three days early this month due to ‘ongoing uncertainty relating to Brexit’. QUB staff are usually paid on the final working day of every month. However, because of fears about the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, this month’s payment date was brought forward to Wednesday, 27 March …” (more)

[Laura McDaid, BBC News, 24 March]

“Public service unions are set to demand a pay rise and wage reviews at new Government talks in the wake of a deal worth more than €35m for nurses. Sources said they were likely to make a collective claim for a wage boost after nurses won a package that includes a higher salary scale to halt crippling health service strikes …” (more)

[Anne-Marie Walsh, Independent, 8 March]

“More than 60,000 public servants recruited since 2011 on lower pay will gradually see pay improvements from today. The pay increases, which are about €3,300 on average, are part of the implementation of a deal to address pay inequality …” (more)

[RTÉ News, 1 March]

“The Higher Education Authority (HEA) today (Monday 18th February) publishes the results of a survey of over 29,000 individuals who graduated in 2017 from our higher education institutions. It found that 78% of that class are now working while 14% are in further education or training, 5% are seeking work and up to 4% are engaged in other activities (eg travel) …” (more)

[Malcolm Byrne, HEA, 18 February]

“Young teachers earn most within months of leaving college while arts graduates take in the least, a survey of more than 29,000 recent third-level graduates has found. When broken down by type of course, education graduates – such as teachers – had the highest reported average salaries (€38,701) nine months after graduating …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 18 February]

“The vast majority of college graduates are opting to stay and find work at home, new figures show. Overall, some 78% of graduates from the class of 2017 were working nine months after graduating, figures not seen since the height of the economic boom …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 18 February]