Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Members of the committee have been having a discussion with almost all Secretaries General on the issue of allowances versus core pay. I meet a great number of public servants and teachers in my clinic who tell me they feel very aggrieved that allowances are being discussed when, in their view, their allowances effectively are core pay. Those responsible in the public sector, both at political and Civil Service level, never really grappled with the issue of rectifying core pay and therefore, we have this complex, convoluted system of allowances. What work is under way in the Department to streamline allowances? For example, I refer to the qualification allowance. One takes it as a given that one expects all teachers to be qualified. The Secretary General has outlined to the committee that the Department is weeding out unqualified teachers and that work is ongoing in that regard. Why can the qualification allowance not form part of core pay? Does it not constitute core pay?