A motion was passed in the Seanad last night expressing concern over the estimated 11,200 lecturers - many of them women - who are employed by universities and colleges on a temporary or casual basis and have to sign on for the summer.
The motion was not opposed by Government, which said it shared some of the concerns raised.
Putting forward the motion for debate last night in the Seanad, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins said precarious work conditions in the higher education sector were widespread and had been identified as an area where insecurity was escalating and becoming embedded.
She said: "We've seen a slippery slope where conditions are deteriorating... and what we identify in the motion is the extraordinary spread of insecure contracts."
Senator Higgins told the Seanad that research from Noteworthy had identified around 11,200 lecturers in Ireland working on a temporary or casual basis across universities and institutes of technology.
She said fixed-term contracts that only apply during the academic term time were common, and these did not build in time for necessary research work and marking.
Senator Higgins said these lecturers were forced to lose their employment each summer and go and seek social welfare payments.
She said people in this situation were not building up towards permanent status and were also finding if difficult to obtain housing as a result.
"It's very hard to move on with any aspect of your life when you can only point to an eight month or nine month contract," she explained.
Read more: How precarious jobs are affecting Irish third-level education
She said some were on an endless cycle of these contracts for many years, while even more insecure contracts on an hourly basis were also being proposed by some colleges.
Niall Collins, the Junior Minister for Skills and Further Education said the government would not oppose this motion and shared some of the concerns raised.
He said it had proven difficult to collect data in this area but the Irish Universities Association had estimated that around 12% of academic staff were employed on a fixed term contract.
Mr Collins said while not all university appointments could be made on a permanent basis, the sector must operate within national employment law.
He said the motion called for urgent engagement with the sector and he said engagement with the Higher Education Authority, trade unions and higher education colleges and universities was ongoing.
The Employment Control Framework was a legacy of the financial crisis and its reform would be a real game changer, Mr Collins said, allowing permanent contracts to no longer be restricted only to core funded posts.
The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) welcomed the motion which was also supported by Senator Michael McDowell and Senator Rónán Mullen.
Low levels of collective bargaining
Miriam Hamilton, Deputy General Secretary with IFUT said "we need practical action" and pointed to low levels of collective bargaining among university lecturers who are not permanently employed or members of a union.
She said research showed that women were disproportionately affected by this issue.
Ms Hamilton said a Precarious Employment Steering Group had been set up by the union and would report later in the summer.
Dr Enrica Maria Ferrara, European Studies Coordinator at the Italian department at Trinity College Dublin said she attended last night's debate in the Seanad and said she was on a nine-month contract that ends later this month, when she will sign on for the summer, until the new academic term begins in September.
She said she had been on a variety of precarious contracts including hourly paid and as a term-time Teaching Fellow for close to 15 years, which she said was "an unfair, hard life."
She said working in academia meant that you were expected to be up to date with all the latest research and you were also contacted over the summer by students for references.
The precarious position of PHD students and researchers was also discussed in last night's debate, as unlike other workers they do not have access to sick leave, maternity leave or other social supports.
The USI said last night's motion addressed many of the key problems currently facing PhD researchers.
USI Vice President for Postgraduate Affairs, Waqar Ahmed said: "The Government must safeguard the working rights of postgraduate researchers in Ireland and recognise them as employees."
Minister Niall Collins said it was possible that this approach could have unintended consequences in terms of tax treatment and potentially reduce access for international PHD students.
He said a review of supports for PHD researchers was already underway and it was hoped the first report on this would be submitted to Minister Simon Harris shortly.
