Up to 300 top academics are to get backdated pay rises of 8 per cent, with 5.5 per cent backdated to September 2007 and 2.5 per cent backdated to last March. Letters sanctioning the increases were sent by the department last month to several institutions, including DCU, the University of Limerick, UCD and Trinity College.

The 2.5 per cent rise was due under the national pay agreement, while the 5.5 per cent increase was recommended two years ago by the O'Brien Review Group on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector.

Other public-sector groups had already received the 5.5 per cent increase, but it was held up in the case of university professors because of a separate issue over unauthorised allowances paid to some academics. This hold-up was challenged by the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), which argued that it was unfair on those who were not involved in the allowances issue.

General secretary Michael Jennings said it was unfair to penalise all university professors because some senior people had been awarded unauthorised allowances.

But the pay rise was severely criticised by Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes.

“Batt O’Keeffe must be living on another planet if he thinks that lecturers earning over €120,000 deserve a pay hike when the rest of the country is taking a massive hit...

”The 5.5 per cent hike was originally recommended two years ago by the O’Brien Review Group on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. There is no obligation for the recommendation to be followed and, with pay and public spending about to be slashed, it must be set aside...

”We already know that the pay scale of senior lecturers and professors is at the top of the EU Salary League.”

The salary scale for professors starts at €123,449, rising to €158,644 for those at the top. (Sources: Irish Independent and other)