Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, on teachers' pay, I was in a position to negotiate on the restoration of teachers' pay and we succeeded in restoring 75% of the gap. We have also reached a point where the scales at higher levels are now identical. Substantial progress has been made before the more recent agreement.

Under the most recent agreement, a settlement of €900 million to be paid over the next three years was negotiated with the trade unions. As the committee will be aware, that did not include provision for new entrants. This was provision to provide increases across the board.

However, a process was established to look at the issue of new entrants' pay. It is, as the Deputy states, a bigger concern for teachers' unions than for many of the other unions. That process has started and there is full engagement by all of the teachers' unions in it. While the provision of the €900 million did not make any particular provision for new entrant pay, there is a process in negotiation. Obviously, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is dealing with those negotiations because the new entrant pay issue applies not only to teachers but right across the public service. It is not only a question of one Minister or one sector getting some deal. It has to be negotiated in a way that applies to everyone.

On the issue of retirement, there has been a pattern for many years of teachers retiring before the mandatory age of 65. This is not new. Some 90% retire before their mandatory retirement age. The pension scheme had been a feature. There is a pension scheme where in early retirement there is not an actuarial reduction in the pension one draws and there are attractions in taking early retirement for some teachers.

This is not new. There is no unusual outflow. There were 1,114 last year and 1,168 this year. Last year was higher, with the previous year being in or around 1,000. The previous again was back up to 1,100. It is a pretty steady pattern of around 1,100 over a number of years. That is the pattern. We do have to get better agreement between ourselves and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the forecasting model. There is not a consensus on the forecasting model but work will be done to try to achieve that.

On the issue of SNAs, we have recruited about 1,000 in the each of the last years. We have committed in the recent budget to recruit again around those numbers. The difference this year is that, unlike previous years, we have provided for it in this year's Estimates for 2018. As Deputy O'Sullivan will be aware, in previous years Ministers came to Cabinet in June looking for sanction for a newly assessed need. It was not in the previous year's Estimates. Now it is in the Estimates. The advantage is we will be able to signal the allocation earlier in the year because we will not be waiting for Cabinet approval. It will be better for schools to be able to plan in advance with this new approach.