Staff at UCD have accused its president, Dr Hugh Brady, of moving to "alienate and demoralise his own staff" in the continuing "poaching" controversy.
In a statement last night the Siptu section committee at UCD said it wished to "dissociate themselves from Hugh Brady's attempt to defend himself for poaching from other universities" in The Irish Times earlier this week.
The statement was released by Dr Theresa Urbainczyk, of the School of Classics at UCD who is a member of the UCD governing authority, as an elected representative of staff.
"His statement reveals what current staff at UCD have known for some time: that the president of UCD is unwilling or unable to engage in genuine co-operation or consultation with his colleagues.
"Poaching staff has an adverse effect on other universities. But it also has an equally detrimental result on staff in the president's own establishment."
The statement continues, "It is noticeable that while UCD appears to be recruiting 'superstar' academics, other staff are facing the brunt of casualisation."
Siptu last night questioned the procedures in UCD by which posts appeared to be filled and sometimes created without advertisements or an open and transparent interviewing process.
"There is little the president could not have achieved if he had shown that he valued and appreciated the staff that he had. Instead he chose to alienate and demoralise his own staff with a speed that is remarkable," the statement said.
The union said that staff were now fearful that relations between UCD and other universities would be hampered due to the recent "poaching" controversy, adding that Ireland was too small for the "football league approach to academia".
Earlier this week, Dr Brady said an agreement drawn up by the group representing all college heads, which specifically prohibits the poaching of key staff, was "anti-competitive".
In a statement last night the university said it had begun a significant programme to earn a ranking in the top 30 colleges in Europe that involved major reform across the university.
It added that the university had now begun to identify key research areas in which it could create a critical mass to match the best universities internationally and that this was being conducted in consultation with each of the colleges within the university.
The statement concluded: "In recent months the university has embarked on a recruitment drive to attract top academics in key areas. Allied to this is a new and unique initiative to retain and promote existing excellent staff."