Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it gives me an opportunity to provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the expert group on fixed-term and part-time employment in primary and second level education. As stated by the Deputy, the Haddington Road agreement provided for the establishment of an expert group to consider and report on the level of fixed-term and part-time employment in teaching, having regard to the importance for teachers of employment stability and security and taking account of system and school needs and Teaching Council registration requirements.

The group was established and chaired by Mr. Peter Ward SC, who consulted extensively with all the stakeholders and interested parties. The report noted the high level of casualisation of employment, particularly in second level teaching where 35% of teachers are fixed-term, part-time, or both. The equivalent figure in primary teaching is 9%. An over-reliance on fixed-term and part-time employment has implications for the security of employment of teachers and has led to concerns about the future attractiveness of teaching as a professional career, with implications for the quality of the education provided to pupils. The report of the expert group was published in September 2014. At the time of publication, I gave a commitment to implement the report with effect from September 2015.

The report recommends a suite of measures which will lead to more job security for fixed-term and part-time teachers. It recommends seven changes should take place from the commencement of the 2015 school year. These changes would allow fixed-term teachers to acquire permanent status more easily and quickly. The report also provides for extended redeployment arrangements that give school management more flexibility in redeploying teachers in the event of mismatch between teacher qualifications and the curricular needs of schools.

At the time of publication, I gave a commitment to implement the report with effect from September 2015. Following consultation with the education partners, circulars 23/2015 and 24/2015 detailing the arrangements and procedures for the implementation of the recommendations of the report were published on 27 March. These arrangements and procedures, as set out in these circulars, are for implementation from the commencement of the 2015-2016 school year. Copies of the circulars are available on my Department's website. The circulars address issues such as the granting of an initial contract of indefinite duration, in respect of which the timeframe has been reduced from three years to two years, and the other issues raised by the Deputy. There was extensive discussion of these issues with the various stakeholders in education prior to publication of the circulars. My understanding is that it is accepted that the recommendations are appropriately captured in the circulars. However, I have not yet had any feedback in that regard and would be interested in any feedback in that regard from the Deputy. The intention is to implement the recommendations fully for the next school year.

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