Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 8 May 2003

Vol. 566 No. 2

Written Answers. - Pension Provisions.

Olwyn Enright

Ceist:

130 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science if he intends to recognise the status and primary responsibility which the principals and deputy principals of community and comprehensive schools who retired prior to 1 September 1996 took on prior to retirement; and if he has plans to remunerate them at the level which reflects the responsibility held by them. [12582/03]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey):

This question concerns the application of the provisions of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work to the pensions of certain teachers. The payments in question are the restructured categories of principals' and deputy principals' allowances which became effective in the pay of serving teachers from 1 September 1996.

My Department's position is that these restructuring increases are not payable to teachers who retired before the increases became effective in pay. This position is in accordance with long-standing policy on public service pensions in regard to restructuring increases and is consistent with the advice of the Department of Finance which has overall responsibility for pensions policy.

A teacher's pay, salary and allowances, may benefit from general pay increases which apply to all employees in the State and special pay increases which apply in the case of teachers. Retired teachers receive the benefits in pension of general pay increases and special pay increases on the basis of parity with serving teachers. In addition to general pay increases and special pay increases, a teacher's pay may also be increased through restructuring which may take the form of introducing a new allowance or restructuring an existing allowance. The Department of Finance has confirmed that such restructuring increases are in a different category from general and special increases.

Where pay increases derive from restructuring, the policy is to examine each increase on an individual basis to establish if it is consistent with public service pensions increase policy to pass it on to pensioners. One of the factors taken into account is the manner in which the increase is applied to the pay of serving staff. Increases applied on a personal as opposed to a general basis are never passed on to pensioners.

Allowances for principals and deputy principals are related to the numbers of teachers employed in the school and the scale of the allowances held at retirement continues to be reckonable in the pension irrespective of whether the numbers fall or rise after retirement.