Brendan Griffin
Question:219. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50752/18]
View answerTuesday, 4 December 2018
Questions (219)
Written answers
The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. The starting salary for a new entrant teacher in 2011 was €27,814. As a result of the programme of pay restoration, the starting salary of a teacher is now €36,318 and from 1 October 2020 onwards will be €37,692.
Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides that “the Minister [for Public Expenditure and Reform] shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Oireachtas a report on the cost of and a plan in dealing with pay equalisation for new entrants to the public service.”
The report laid before the Oireachtas on foot of this provision by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform assesses the cost of a further change which would provide a two scale point adjustment to new entrants recruited since 2011. The total cost of such an adjustment across the public sector is of the order of €200 million, of which Education accounts for €83 million. The report also acknowledges that, during the financial crisis, there were policy changes which affected remuneration in different occupations across the public sector (including education). Addressing any issues arising from changes which are not specifically detailed in the report would give rise to additional costs over and above the foregoing figures.
The matter of new entrant pay is a cross sectoral issue, not just an issue for the education sector alone. The Government supports the gradual, negotiated repeal of the FEMPI legislation, having due regard to the priority to improve public services and in recognition of the essential role played by public servants.
On Monday 24th September, the Government welcomed the outcome of discussions between public service employers and the public services committee of ICTU in respect of new entrant pay.
This agreement will benefit 16,000 teachers and nearly 5,000 SNAs within the education sector. The deal provides for a series of incremental jumps for new entrants at points 4 and 8 of their scale.
These restorations for new entrants have been achieved through continued engagement and collective bargaining between the Government and the public service unions and shows the benefits that such engagement can bring. The Public Service Stability Agreement provides a range of protections and benefits to public servants who are covered by the agreement. If a union opts to withdraw from the agreement, they are choosing to forego these protections and benefits.
In Budget 2019, school leadership is again supported with an additional release day for teaching principals in primary schools and a further four additional release days for teaching principals in schools with special classes. These additional release days - 18, 24, and 30 depending on the size of the school - will be effective from 1st September 2019.
This builds on measures in previous budgets, including €0.4 million made available in Budget 2018 to fund almost 4600 additional release days for teaching principals in primary schools. This funding provided an increase in the number of release days available to teaching principals in the 2018/19 school year to 17, 23 or 29 days depending on the size of the school.
The Department also introduced an extension to the arrangements for schools with teaching principals to cluster their release days into full-time posts, with one teacher covering the release days of all the schools in the cluster. Up to 50 principal release cluster posts will be put in place for the current school year. This measure will assist teaching principals to more effectively plan their release days for the benefit of the school.
On 26 November, 2018 the Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh T.D., announced that the Minor Works Grant of €29m will be paid to all primary schools throughout the country over the next number of days. This follows a commitment under Project Ireland 2040 that the Minor Works Grant will be paid on an annual basis to all primary schools.
All primary schools receive a flat rate Minor Works Grant of €5,500 plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil attending a special school or special class. The grant is worth €6,425 for a 50 pupil school and over €11,000 for a 300 pupil school.
While schools have discretion under the Minor Works Grant Scheme in relation to the nature of small scale works and improvements to be carried out to their school buildings, the Department advised all school authorities to use the grant in the first instance to prioritise fire safety prevention works.
While Budget 2012 increased the appointment and retention ratios for small schools (i.e., schools with up to four classroom teachers), the staffing ratios of these schools have been improved since 2015.
In September 2015, improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom teacher were introduced, along with the improved appointment and retention thresholds for one-teacher schools situated 8km or more from the nearest school of the same type of patronage and/or language of instruction.
Budget 2016 announced a 1 point improvement to the primary staffing schedule with this improvement implemented in the 2016/17 school year.
Budget 2017 announced two adjustments in relation to one teacher schools. Where the school is the sole primary school on an island the school will be able to appoint a second teacher. In relation to single teacher schools generally with an enrolment of 15 or more pupils the school can apply to the staffing appeal board for a second post where the single teacher has children across 6 or more class groups.
Improvements to the staffing schedule announced in Budget 2018 brings the teacher allocation ratio in all primary schools to the most favourable level ever seen at primary level and these improvements were introduced in the current school year.
The staffing process includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria, including small schools that were affected by the Budget 2012 changes, to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board.
My Department is aware that some primary schools are experiencing difficulties in recruiting substitute teachers.
I recently published the teacher supply action plan, which contains actions under a number of headings: data collection and analysis; promotion of the teaching profession; initial teacher education policy, provision, funding and support; policies and arrangements for schools and teachers that impact on teacher supply. One of the actions is to review the potential for substitute teacher supply panels for primary schools and my Department has held initial discussions with the INTO on this matter.