The seven university presidents have endorsed a new agreement on the poaching of staff, bringing an end to a bitter and potentially damaging dispute among them.
UCD president Dr Hugh Brady, who had been reluctant to sign an initial draft, has backed the new protocol.
This commits the presidents to an open and transparent recruitment of staff. It also appears to rule out staff poaching - unless this would complement and enhance research work already under way in the third-level sector.
Dr Brady, who had been accused of attempting to poach key researchers from NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway and UCC, is said to have played a key role in helping to draft the document.
Last night, sources said the agreement was reached during a harmonious meeting. One senior figure said: "The dispute is over; it is in all our interests to move on."
The agreement came after feverish behind-the-scenes activity involving the college presidents, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin and the chairman of the Irish Universities Association, Paddy Teahon.
It marks the culmination of a bitter public dispute among the university presidents. Senior figures in the Department of Education and the Higher Education Authority are known to have been dismayed at the public wrangling among the presidents over the summer.
The dispute came at a time when the Government had committed record levels of new spending to the third-level sector - on the basis of deeper collaboration between the colleges.
The Government has committed €300 million to the new strategic innovation fund for higher education and a further €3.8 billion for the new strategy for science, technology and innovation.
Last night, Ms Hanafin warmly welcomed the agreement. "Collaboration between universities in areas of strategic strength is a vital part of our efforts to develop world-class teaching and research excellence within the Irish higher education system.
"The relatively small size of individual Irish higher education institutions in international terms means that a collaborative approach is imperative if we are to achieve the full potential of the Government's investment in higher education."
In key sections of the new agreement, the university heads commit themselves to a series of measures, including:
recruitment of academic staff shall be open and transparent and on the basis of international best practice;
universities shall undertake to safeguard public investment in strategic research programmes through robust contractual arrangements with the senior researcher recruited to lead or drive those programmes, including, where relevant, minimum periods of appointment;
universities shall be mindful of the areas of strategic importance of each university and of the need to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of public investment in individual institutions and across the sector with a view to building up the critical mass necessary to compete at the global level;
universities in seeking to develop new or existing research areas shall critically examine the potential for collaboration with other institutions currently active in these areas and collaborate where there is distinct added value to be achieved.
