Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 100: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the date and the way in which her attention was drawn to the fact that some universities were sanctioning allowances and bonuses without her sanction; the action that she has taken on this matter; the action her predecessors took on this matter; if she will take steps to recover these moneys; if she will ensure that all future third level sector funding will be administered to the laws governing same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33902/10]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Efforts to regularise remuneration matters in the university sector have been ongoing for some years. Indeed this issue was in the public domain prior to my appointment and has been the subject of references in the reports of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector and in questions previously raised in this House. More recently the issue of bonus payments in UCD came to light in the context of the Comptroller and Auditor General's Special Report on Resource Management and Performance in Irish Universities.

I welcome the opportunity to put on record my disappointment and disapproval of the unacceptable practice which existed in some universities of making additional payments to staff in the absence of the requisite sanction.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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In the absence of the Minister.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Remuneration in universities is regulated by the Universities Act 1997. While the Act confers a considerable degree of institutional autonomy, it provides that all forms of remuneration in universities, including allowances, are required to be approved by the Minister for Education and Skills with the consent of the Minister for Finance. It is regrettably evident that some universities did not adhere to the provisions of the legislation. As soon as my Department fully became aware of the scale and extent of the problem in regard to unauthorised allowances in early 2005 it intervened to bring about a resolution.

Following prolonged and extensive contacts and correspondence between my Department, the Department of Finance, the Higher Education Authority and each of the universities concerned, agreement was finally reached in April 2009 which provided for the cessation of the unapproved allowances in the case of senior staff in universities comprehended by the review body. This regularised the remuneration of the individuals concerned apart from a limited number of outstanding issues in some universities.

Under the current legislation my Department is limited in its options in respect of the imposition of penalties to deal with breaches. While the extra payments were ceased in April 2009, in most cases this did not have retrospective effect. In view of possible contractual entitlements there are significant legal obstacles to recovering unauthorised payments from individuals. That said, my Department adopted an approach of withholding both review body and general round pay increases from their due dates pending regularisation. In addition, the question of imposing a financial penalty on particular universities involved in making unauthorised payments will be considered further with the HEA.

My Department has sought and received unequivocal commitments from each university where unapproved allowances were paid that in future it will adhere to the provisions of the Universities Act.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Is it not a fact that the Department of Education and Skills and the Higher Education Authority has known about this issue going back to 1997? Is it not a fact that the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report into this matter makes that exceptionally clear? Is it not a fact also that successive Ministers for Education have refused to deal with this issue? When there is a troika of presidents in a university like Limerick drawing the presidential salary for two years at the same time, the Higher Education Authority estimates that over €4 million in taxpayers' money is being paid to top people in universities while at the bottom of the university ladder young junior lecturers cannot get in and get the hours and, most important, regarding the approximate 150,000 people in third level education, when thousands of them and their families are seeking to find €1,500 to pay the fees at the point of entry into college, will the Minister not agree that the Government should be ashamed of itself?

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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No. I do not believe the Government should be ashamed of itself. The universities in question should be ashamed of themselves. With autonomy comes responsibility and it is not too much to expect that highly paid senior management in our third level institutions adhere to the law without having to be constantly supervised. As I stated in my opening statement, efforts to regularise remuneration matters in the university sector have been ongoing for some time and once the scale of the problem became apparent to the Department in 2005, extensive contact took place between it, the Department of Finance, the Higher Education Authority and each of the universities concerned. The universities have a great deal of autonomy under legislation and the House has placed much trust in our universities to manage their own affairs and they have a job of work to do to regain that trust.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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That job of work is being done in exceptionally good measure by many of the same universities which are in the top 100 by international standards and more power to them. What is happening here is that people in these universities, who are in the public sector, are getting away with murder and the Government is letting them away with it. This goes back to 1997; the Department and the Higher Education Authority knew and year after year letters were sent from the HEA to university heads stating that payments needed the sanction of the Minister and that they were unlawful. As the HEA stated, what part of "No" did these people not understand?

Are there implications arising from the Government's lack of control over all the public service quangos throughout the country? A person in Coillte receives €450,000 a year, and the chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority receives €750,000 when all of the bonuses are added in. The public sector is out of control and is not being held accountable while the people at the bottom in education cannot afford to pay for their books or find the €1,500 required for third-level registration. Does the Minister of State not think he and the Government ought to be ashamed of themselves for their lack of control and authority in this basic issue?

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I repeat that the universities and people concerned should be ashamed of themselves. As I stated, the issue was in the public domain prior to the Tánaiste's appointment and has been the subject of references in the reports of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector and in questions previously raised in the House. As I stated, as soon as the extent of the problem became clear in 2005, the issue was dealt with in a decisive way after subsequent long and protracted discussions and negotiations. I and the Government regret this as much as Deputy O'Dowd does, but I want to assure the House that the Department has sought and received unequivocal commitments from each university where unapproved allowances were paid that in future it will adhere to the provisions of the Universities Act. The House should expect that.