Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012
195. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the decision to cut qualification allowances for new teachers in view of the impact that this will have on morale within the teaching profession over the coming years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43237/12]
View answerAs I have indicated earlier, measures impacting on the pay of new entrant public servants, including teachers, have to be viewed in the context of the dire financial circumstances which this Government inherited and is working to reverse.
The major impact on the pay of new entrant teachers arises from the decision of the previous Government to impose a 10% reduction coupled with commencement on the first point of the scale. Cumulatively, these measures reduced the pay of new entrants by 14%. The recent decision to remove qualification allowances was significantly tempered by this Government providing that new teachers will commence on a new scale on a point equivalent to the fourth point of the old scale. The impact of this measure was a further reduction of 4.5% on top of the 14% imposed by the last Government.
The reality of the current situation is that it is simply not possible to reverse these measures.
