Ireland's largest university has clashed with unions over plans to sack research staff.

University College Dublin (UCD) last week briefed Unite, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), and Siptu on the proposals, which have sparked outrage. Union leaders and research­ers warned any such redundancies will have "serious implications" for Ireland's third-level sector.

The unions have argued that over a quarter of the research staff in the college are eligible for permanency in their field, but the college has moved to ensure there are no permanent staff contracts as the funding crisis deepens.

"The long-established guarantee of protection against compulsory redundancy in the public service is under serious threat. This has massive implications for academic staff in every college," said general secretary of IFUT Mike Jennings.

According to Kieran Allen of Siptu, "UCD is attempting to evade the legal rights of their workers. If this proposal were to go ahead, the college could then say to research­ers who they have brought in from all across the country and indeed the world that they have been made redundant with one month's notice."

One source within the Siptu has said the college is attempting "to fund [its] research on the cheap, and thus this knowledge economy on the cheap too. It is not possible to build a 21st-century economy on 19th-century methods."

A spokesperson for UCD declined to comment.