Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Okay, I thank Dr. Wall for clarifying that.

On staff contracts, the HEA told the committee in correspondence that the total staffing in the universities is 17,304 staff, of whom 11,191 are permanent and 6,102 are temporary. I was surprised by the figure. We are not dealing with a fast-foot outlet or temporary stalls for Christmas. We are dealing with third level institutions. If the HEA is going to be given more powers, that is one area that it might get into. It is something that surprises a lot of people, including students. Over the years, I have spoken to many people in universities who are employed in jobs that operate on an if-and-when-we-need-you basis. They do not have any great contracts or security. The hours are very ad hoc. They may have limited hours of nine or 11 hours a week. They are expected to be available if-and-when needed.We have seen the levels of pay enjoyed by senior staff, in relation to University of Limerick, for example, where several people were on over €180,000. These are lecturers and highly qualified people and it is an area that we have to deal with. Dr. Wall may say there are issues around funding for the sector. They have been touched on here today and we understand that but we have to try to make this more secure and more regular for people with more regular hours. In the county I am from, County Laois, there are people who work in third level institutions. I was surprised at the hours available to them, the level of pay and the ad hoc nature of the pay. There did not seem to be any set pay for the hours they work. I was very surprised that people who are highly qualified, having spent years studying in university and who have high academic achievements, end up employed on a very casual basis. There are people working in fast-food outlets who have better terms and conditions. It is an area to which the HEA and the Department need to pay attention.