My Department has compiled detailed information on teacher retirements in respect of Primary, Secondary and Community and Comprehensive Schools for the years 2012 and 2013. The detailed information with effect from 2012 is available in tabular form on my Department's website at the link http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Statistical-Reports/Other-Statistical-Reports.html. Detailed information in respect of 2014 will be compiled in early 2015 and will be posted on my Department's website. In relation to the issue of savings, teaching vacancies that arise in schools due to retirements or otherwise are one of the few areas of the public service that are exempted from the Government's moratorium on recruitment. In addition, and notwithstanding the Government's budgetary pressures, teacher numbers are increasing due to the on-going and significant increases in demographics at primary and post-primary level. In this regard, there are a thousand more teachers employed in primary and post-primary schools around the country over the last year. As the Deputy will be aware staff employed in the higher education sector area may be Exchequer funded posts, self-funded posts or research posts which can be funded by various organisations. The number of core Exchequer funded posts in the Higher Education Authority (HEA) funded sector reduced by some 205 full-time equivalents from the end of June to end of December 2013. Details of reductions in 2014 will be available when final returns are submitted after year end. The position is that an Employment Control Framework (ECF) is in place for the higher education sector which provides institutions with considerable flexibility to fill vacancies, through recruitment or promotions on the basis of meeting an overall ceiling of posts. My Department allocates recurrent funding to the HEA for direct disbursement to the Institutions, the internal allocation of which is a matter for individual institutions as autonomous bodies. The recurrent funding allocated to the Higher Education Authority Institutions has reduced significantly in recent years from €1.118 billion in 2012 to €1.012 billion in 2013 and to some €939 million this year.
