Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

The information requested by the Deputy is normally provided on a school year basis.

The average level of uncertified sick leave combined for the total cohort of primary teachers was 1.98 days and 2.81 days for teachers in secondary and community-comprehensive schools.

The average level of uncertified sick leave, for which substitution cover was claimed, combined for the total cohort of primary teachers was 1.31 days and 1.6 days for teachers in secondary and community-comprehensive schools.

The number of days uncertified sick leave taken by primary teachers in the 2007-08 school year was 60,128. Teachers in secondary, community and comprehensive schools took 48,136 days.

In the 2007-08 school year my Department paid for substitute cover in respect of 39,921 days uncertified sick leave taken by primary teachers, and 27,730 days taken by teachers in secondary and community and comprehensive schools.

Teachers employed by vocational education committees are paid by the 33 individual committees. The payroll costs incurred by the committees, including the cost of substitution, are claimed on a monthly basis from the Department and the Department does not have a breakdown of the specific data for VECs. Therefore, data provided on the VECs is estimated on the basis that the cost, days claimed and the level of absences are 56% of the total of the secondary and community-comprehensive schools. The 56% figure is based on relative teacher numbers in the different second level sectors. On that basis, the estimated number of days uncertified sick leave taken by teachers employed by vocational education committees was approximately 27,000 and the estimated number of days paid for by vocational education committees was approximately 15,500.

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