Vol. 526 No. 3
125 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has satisfied himself that teachers are adequately rewarded for their significant and continuing enormous contribution to our education system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26252/00]
Teachers do valuable work and should be paid accordingly. I have been to the forefront in acknowledging the contribution teachers have made, and continue to make, to the development of education in Ireland, which in turn has contributed greatly to our present state of economic well-being. It is essential that the pay and other conditions of employment applying to teachers should be such as to continue to attract young men and women of the highest calibre and ability to the teaching profession.
In terms of improvements in pay and other conditions of service, teachers have been treated as favourably as other public servants and obtained the full benefits of all national agreements over the past ten years. However, I understand the feeling of teachers and other public servants that their contribution to the present economic prosperity should be rewarded on a par with other groups of comparable workers.
It is the partnership process more that than any other single factor that has delivered the state of economic prosperity that we now enjoy. The aspirations of all public service employees, including teachers, can be achieved through the partnership process and through the arrangements agreed in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. I know that the majority of the public service unions, including two of the teacher unions, consider that the public service benchmarking body provides a means by which public service employees can achieve their goals of equal treatment with the private sector and people in comparable employment. I am also confident that the benchmarking process can ensure that the pay and conditions applying to teachers in the future will remain comparable with other graduate professions and prove attractive to new entrants to the profession.
