Vol. 506 No. 2
439 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason he is not restoring the link between pensions and the increase in the current rates of public service pay particularly in respect of retired principals and deputy principals of community and comprehensive schools. [15200/99]
1 take it that the Deputy is referring to the Government decision taken in November 1997. The Government decision was taken in the context of maintaining the traditional links between pensions and pay. The statement announcing the decision referred specifically to "traditional parity".
Traditional parity in the case of teachers involves a distinction between incremental salary and allowances. In accordance with long-standing practice, the benefits of increases in salary are reflected in the pensions of all retired teachers and the benefits of allowances are reflected in the pensions of retired teachers who held those allowances during service. In accordance with this practice, teachers who retired prior to 1 August 1996 are not eligible to receive the benefit in their pensions of the long service allowance which was introduced with effect from that date.
Similarly, principals and deputy principals who retired prior to 1 September 1996 are not eligible to benefit from the restructured scales of the post of responsibility allowances. The position in this case is that the amount of a principal's or deputy principal's allowance is determined by a scale which is related to the size of school involved. Any increase in the principal's or deputy principal's allowance which arises due to the restructuring of the scale is payable only to retired teachers who have received an increase in pay as a result of holding the scale point in question during service. An increase arising from the restructuring of the scale is not payable, therefore, to teachers who retired prior to 1 September 1996. This is in line with the longstanding practice that the scale of an allowance payable is determined at the date of retirement and that the retired teacher will continue to receive the benefit of the scale reached at retirement irrespective of whether enrolments in the school fall or rise after retirement.
