Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

My point is, why do we need to have that? The Teaching Council sends out receipts and letters to 73,000 people at a minimum postage cost of 55 cent each, not including the cost of the unusually heavy paper. What is this about? That is the guts of €40,000 in postage alone. We can take it that all these teachers are online, so what about the smart economy and using online receipts? If we are talking about avoiding waste and being more efficient, presumably these functions could be done more smartly than they are at present. As a result, we could save expense rather than foisting the burden onto teachers, many of whom are jobless.

In its material, the Teaching Council says that registered teachers can now see themselves as registered professionals similar to doctors, architects, engineers and nurses. That is nonsense, however. Teachers are not self-employed sole traders requiring professional indemnity insurance. They are essentially employees. The question of continuing professional development is hugely important to them. They have taken it on board and have had a constant input in that regard. There is a desire among teachers for an increase in professionalism and for continuous professional development. That can be done through in-service course programmes and by making the ongoing development of teaching standards compulsory. There is a real will within the teaching profession, and the teaching community generally, to do that within our education service. We do not need a teaching council to achieve that.

It is important to tackle the issue of casualisation because qualified teachers should not be on the dole when unqualified people are being employed in their jobs. I know it is said that this can only be done in exceptional circumstances, but I am not sure the Bill will achieve that.

It is understood that following the commencement of section 30, unregistered persons acting in place of a teacher, even if they are qualified, are likely to be paid at the unqualified rate unless they are registered. In other words, a financial incentive is being put in here to make people register. The Department of Education and Skills estimates that up to 10,000 teachers may have to seek registration with the Teaching Council or else face massive pay cuts, potentially to the tune of thousands of euro. I do not understand the motivation behind this. Is it to drive another 10,000 teachers into paying over their €90 so the council can get another few bob? Is it a back-door attempt to cut teaching salaries if people do not register? I am not sure what it is but I am concerned about cuts in allowances to newly qualified teachers. I would like the Minister to address this matter in more detail later.

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