Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1466. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the guidelines and circulars issued to institutes of technology and the new university entities on the structure of pay scales for lecturers from 2003 to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40951/22]
View answerPublic sector pay policy is set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) as changes in pay are normally agreed at national pay talks, whereby that Department leads in negotiations with the relevant stakeholders, including employee representatives. Fiscal measures, such as those imposed under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI), also have had an impact on the pay of public servants from January 2010 on, with the FEMPI Acts providing for a number of changes in pay.
In line with instructions received from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Pay Circulars have been issued by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, whereby instructions have been provided to the Higher Education Authority to issue relevant Circulars to the Institutes of Technology and the Technological Universities, indicating the relevant increase or reduction to be applied to different cohorts of employees in the higher education sector, based on the DPER instruction. These Circulars include the salary scales to be applied to distinct grades, and lecturer grades in the institutes of technology and the new technological universities are included.
All higher education pay circulars issued by the Department of Further Higher Education Research, Innovation and Science can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/search/?q=pay+circulars&sort_by=published_date&organisation=department-of-higher-education-innovation-and-science.
Previous to the establishment of the Department in 2020, the Circulars issued to the technological higher education sector, by the then Department of Education and Skills, can be found at the following link, www.gov.ie/en/circulars/ by searching for the Department of Education and Skills and the year where were changes to pay. Changes to pay occurred in the following years: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and in 2020.
