asked the Minister for Education if he will state the number of officers under the vocational education scheme, distinguishing the different classes and grades, including the chief executive officers' grade, and the number of whole-time and parttime officers, with the total cost to the Exchequer of the salaries of these officers for the previous financial year, the number of such officers whose salaries were consolidated under the consolidated salaries and bonus scheme of March, 1949, whether the effect of this scheme was to exempt any or all grades from the adjustment of their salaries, in accordance with fluctuations of the official cost-of-living index figure, and whether there has been any alteration in the status of any section of such officers which has had the effect of altering the method of calculating their salaries since March, 1949.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Vocational Education Officers.
The total number of officers serving under vocational education committees is 2,231, made up as follows:—
|
Chief executive officers |
38 |
|
Whole-time teachers |
1,142 |
|
Part-time teachers |
967 |
|
Clerks |
84 |
The cost to the Exchequer of the remuneration of such officers in the financial year 1949-50 amounted to £406,700 approximately, as calculated by reference to the ratio of State grants to the total expenditure of committees.
Every officer who had been paid basic salary plus varying cost-of-living bonus accepted the scheme of consolidated salaries which was introduced as from 1st November, 1946, and all serving chief executive officers, whole-time teachers and clerks, without exception or exemption, had these consolidated salaries readjusted at 290 as from 1st November, 1948, under the terms of the Department's circular of February, 1949.
In the case of the chief executive officers, the development of the vocational education system throughout the country in recent years dictated a revision of the factors upon which the salary scales of these officers were fundamentally based. Instead of a system under which the scale of salary for each executive officer was separately considered and fixed, the various schemes, other than that of the City of Dublin, were arranged in categories and a salary scale approved for each category. Without exception, the various committees have adopted these scales.
The categories were:—
1. Special large schemes in Cork City and Cork County.
2. The four large Gaeltacht counties—Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Kerry.
3. Other county schemes, and the County Boroughs of Limerick and Waterford and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire.
4. The six scheduled urban areas —Bray, Drogheda, Galway, Wexford, Sligo and Tralee.
In this general readjustment, no departure was made from any general principle governing the consolidation of salaries of chief executive officers in so far as the cost-of-living figure relates thereto.