Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

This is a general point rather than a point in regard to Maynooth University. There is a presumption that university people are going to be extraordinarily well paid but, in fact, one will find there is a high level of fairly poor payments and, often, there is a greater level of job security at primary school level than at university level. I do not think we should be surprised that there is quite a low level of payment of between €10,000 and €20,000, even though quite a lot of hours could be put in. The other point is that this also relates to registered students and it is not unusual to see MA or PhD students lecturing on a part-time basis. It is an area that needs to be looked at in its own right, irrespective of this issue.