By Ruth Ní Mhaonghaile
The new head of the University of Limerick (UL) medical school will earn around €240,000 per annum, €40,000 more than the president of the college itself.
UL is currently recruiting a new head for their Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) to replace outgoing Prof Paul Finucane.
The new head will earn between €231,653 and €241,539 per annum. However there will be a 10 per cent reduction if the replacement is a new entrant to the public sector.
The university is not responsible for setting this rate. A UL spokeswoman told the Independent that “the head of the GEMS is at medical consultant level and the salary scales for medical consultants are set by government.”
This is one of the countries highest paying academic jobs. Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn has stated that of the 99 higher education employees earning more than €200,000 per annum, 89 are academic medical consultants.
UL Students’ Union President, Derek Daly commented on the matter saying, “In terms of fairness, I can only hope that the state has taken some market issues into account in determining that consultant doctors should be paid more than university presidents.”
He also stated: “I wouldn’t count salary as the most important thing to most staff at UL that I know, but it would probably be high on the list of determining factors in accepting a post.”
The GEMS was established in 2007 and was the first graduate entry medical school in Ireland. It is the first medical school to be founded since the establishment of the state. It currently has 366 students across the four years, and the first 32 graduates graduated this year.
The fees for Irish/EU students are €13,915 with the HEA contributing an additional €11,000. Non-EU students pay €38,500 per annum.
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