asked the Minister for Education if he will state in respect of the period from 1st March, 1948, to 30th June, 1949: (a) the number of national teachers due for retirement on pension who got extensions of service and the average period for which extensions were given; (b) the number of national teachers who were refused extensions of their service and the reasons given for the refusals; (c) the number of inspectors of national schools due for retirement who got extensions of their service and the period for which extensions were given.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Service of National Teachers and Inspectors.
(a) The number of national school teachers to whom an extension of service beyond the age of 65 years was granted in the period from 1st March, 1948, to 30th June, 1949, was 23.
Of these, 21 were due to retire on the 31st March, 1948, but were retained for three months to the 30th June, 1948. At the time I was having examined the question of the particular date on which teachers due to retire should cease to serve and as a conclusion could not be reached immediately I decided to continue those who were then due to retire until the end of that school year, that is, the 30th June, subject to the managers' concurrence. Full examination of the question showed that it was not desirable that any change should be made in the existing requirement of retirement at the end of the quarter in which the teacher reaches the retiring age.
As to the remaining two, one teacher was continued for nine months from the 1st October, 1948, to the 30th June, 1949, pending arrangements for the amalgamation with another school of the school in which she had been serving as principal teacher; one teacher, due to retire on the 31st March, 1949, received an extension of one month to the 30th April, 1949, in view of the fact that, through an oversight, notification of proposed withdrawal of salary did not reach him until the 30th March, 1949.
(b) It is not possible to give the number of national teachers who were refused extension of service beyond the age of 65 years in the period from 1st March, 1948, to the 30th June, 1949, owing to the various channels through which representations on their behalf were made.
Applications for an extension of service, other than those referred to at (a), were all refused on the ground that circumstances did not make it desirable that there should be any general extension of the period of service of national teachers.
(c) One inspector of national schools was granted an extension of service for a period of approximately 15 months owing to the number of vacancies in the inspector grade and the difficulty which was being experienced, for a number of reasons, in filling them.