Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The one thing that strikes me on looking at the figures for superannuation for teachers and non-teaching staff is that the number was estimated at 2,092 but originally it was 773. The number has almost increased threefold. For university and IT staff, it was estimated at 76 but it is expected to be 219. That is nearly three times the estimated number. The Minister cannot tell me it is a coincidence that somehow the Department only estimated one third of the people who would retire. I do not buy it. Every year we come in here and it is a huge amount of money. It has real implications in the classroom. That is the problem. The school does not know if the geography teacher or maths teacher is retiring. Kids around the country are left without teachers because the Department does not know who will retire or how many will retire. It is a real worry. It is a financial concern. It is much more of a concern to the child in the classroom who is losing out in their education because the Department is not able to predict what teachers will be in the classroom.