I propose to take Questions Nos. 1199 and 1200 together.
As the Deputy will be aware the employment relationship for teachers in Ireland is with individual school authorities rather than with my Department.
While that is the case the actual contract offered by schools and duties required of a teacher must take account of, inter alia, employment legislation, the rules applying in the sector and the outcome of determinations and agreements reached in an industrial relations context over time.
As a general statement it is fair to say that teaching/class contact time is the dominant feature in the contractual arrangements for teachers in Ireland in contrast to the arrangements in some other jurisdictions. This has meant that many of the duties referred to by the Deputy are not comprehended within the contractual arrangements except where changes have been secured through the modernisation element of recent national agreements. For example changes in relation to parent teacher meetings and staff meetings were secured under Sustaining Progress. Additional payments for substitution and supervision were agreed in 2002 to cover a range of duties in those categories.
It is also worth noting that many teachers engage voluntarily in school activities over and above what is required in contractual terms and in doing so add to the holistic development of their pupils.
My Department's submission to the last benchmarking exercise identified in broad terms the differences in the contractual arrangements for teachers in Ireland compared to other jurisdictions and this material was also provided to the Special Group on Expenditure. I will arrange to have the Deputy provided with a copy of this material.
I can also arrange to have Department officials brief the Deputy on the detail of the different contractual arrangements or provide copies of particular relevant circulars if he so wishes.
