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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 25 Apr 1990

Vol. 397 No. 9

Written Answers. - Teacher Reallocation.

John Bruton

Question:

329 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education if she will outline the present arrangements for the reallocation of teaching posts from schools where numbers are falling to other schools in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) community schools and (d) comprehensive and vocational schools.

The arrangements for the reallocation of teaching posts owing to the circumstances outlined by the Deputy are as follows:

The panel regulations for national schools provide a system whereby an assistant teacher, whose post is being discontinued due to insufficient enrolment, may be transferred to a post in another national school. The panel regulations are operated on a Diocesan basis and are incorporated in the Rules for National Schools under Rule 97. A teacher whose post is to be discontinued at the end of a school year may opt to have his-her name placed on the appropriate panel for redeployment.

The current panel arrangements for national schools are outlined in paragraphs 4 and 5 of Circular 8/90 issued in April 1990. A copy of that circular is being forwarded to the Deputy.

A redeployment scheme for lay teachers in Catholic secondary schools has been implemented since 1988 as a result of an agreement between the religious-clerical authorities of those schools and the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland.

The agreement establishes agreed procedures by which lay teachers may be redeployed to full-time teaching posts within a 30 mile radius, where the number of teachers who may be paid incremental salary is required to be reduced in accordance with the regulations in force.

No arrangements exist for the redeployment of teachers from those non-Catholic schools where pupil numbers are falling.
Negotiations on the introduction of a redeployment scheme for the community and comprehensive sector are taking place among the interested parties. Pending agreement on the introduction of a scheme of redeployment no special arrangements exist for the reallocation of teachers from community and comprehensive schools where numbers are falling.
My Department allocate teaching posts to VECs on a committee scheme basis and not in respect of individual vocational schools. The teaching posts allocation to each VEC is based,inter alia, on pupil enrolments and can increase or decrease accordingly as enrolments in the committee scheme go up or down. The allocation of resources, including teaching resources, to the various vocational schools is a matter for the CEOs and each VEC. Each VEC is empowered to transfer vocational teachers between schools within its committee scheme. This procedure is carried out as the needs of different schools may require.
In addition to the measures outlined above in respect of the different sectors at second level, the Government have agreed that, in the context of demographic decline, where post-primary schools have surplus staff by reference to a 20:1 pupil teacher ratio such staff may be retained to the extent that such retention would be justified by the application of a pupil teacher ratio of 19:1. This concession does not extend to fee-paying schools.
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