Vol. 327 No. 3
asked the Minister for Education if he is aware of the disparity of income of many members of academic staff in regional technical colleges and colleges attaching to Dublin City VEC vis-á-vis comparable posts in university colleges and the NIHE; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
12.
asked the Minister for Education why salary levels at the College of Commerce, Rathmines are considerably lower than salaries for equivalent posts at the Dublin Institute for Higher Education; if he is aware of the considerable sense of grievance which this causes to the staff of the college of commerce; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together.
A claim for an increase in the salaries of members of the academic staffs in regional technical colleges and colleges attached to Dublin City VEC is being dealt with under the scheme of conciliation and arbitration for teachers. It has been agreed that the claim be referred to arbitration and arrangements have been made accordingly. It would not be appropriate, therefore, for me to make any comment on the matter.
Is the Minister aware of the grave dissatisfaction among the academic staffs of the colleges attaching to the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee — the Dublin Institutes of Technology — and of the grave disparity of salaries applicable to lecturers and assistant lecturers in those colleges vis-á-vis the NIHE in Dublin and Limerick and also the university colleges throughout the country? The people concerned are undertaking tasks comparable with those undertaken by lecturers in those other colleges and institutions. Is the Minister aware also that this discrepancy has arisen because of the fragmented approach of the Government and of the Department to the evolution and development of our third level institutions?
In reply to the substance of the supplementary, I would regret very much if the staffs of the colleges concerned should be aggrieved. Arbitration proceedings are in progress at the moment and I am not in a position to make any comment since it would not be fair to comment while the case is being considered at arbitration. As the Deputy knows and as the House may know from reports in the newspapers, disagreement was registered at the conciliation council and the matter has now gone to arbitration.
Is the Minister aware that unless a serious attempt is made to bring the salaries of the members of these academic staffs into line with what is being paid in the NIHE institutions and in the universities there will be grave disorder, possibly leading to a strike situation that would have serious effects in the coming months?
I am confident that the arbitrator will be made aware of all those facts.
The Minister brought it all on himself.
