Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that this is an issue the Deputy has championed and highlighted in this House for a long time. She has raised it on a number of occasions, including at Leaders' Questions. I acknowledge that. It is also an issue that has been dragging on for too long. I know that is very much the conviction of the adult education tutors and those who represent them. They play a central role in meeting learners' needs. The regularisation of the terms and conditions of tutors is a priority for me and my Department. Steps taken to achieve this include the provision in 2019 of access to leave schemes, paid leave and the appropriate public sector pension scheme. The majority of tutors are paid on the unqualified teacher rate and have received Building Momentum pay increases, but there is a smaller group of tutors who are paid on the self-financing rate which was originally intended to be used for self-financing and not Exchequer-funded courses. As such, this rate has not be increased under national pay agreements. Work is under way to retrospectively award Building Momentum increases to this group this year.

In terms of the final elements of the overall process, following extensive engagement by my Department, together with the Department of Education which currently has legal responsibility for the terms and conditions of all employees in the ETB sector, and working with officials in the Department of public expenditure, a proposal was issued from my Department to staff representatives last year to establish a new grade of adult educator, with a standardised pay scale aligned with the Youthreach resource person scale. At the time, this was seen as a welcome breakthrough. The proposal provides for a consistent approach across ETBs into the future. Each of the over 2,800 tutors employed across the ETBs will have the option to avail of the proposal and assimilate on to the proposed new adult educator pay scale or remain on his or her existing arrangements. The implementation of the proposal has been the subject of further negotiations with staff representatives.

The sticking point, and a legitimate issue, was around arrangements for an incremental progression, which was the outstanding issue. The unions and the ETB management have drafted a paper on the implementation process for the proposal, and I am pleased to say this has now been agreed in principle between the parties. I am also pleased to tell the Deputy that both Departments met with ETBI this week - on Tuesday, I believe - to discuss the paper. Arising from these discussions, the proposal has now been finalised between Education and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI, and the unions. I thank people for working on that. We intend to submit the final proposal to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform today and I hope we can bring this matter to a swift conclusion.

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