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

The pay agreements are part of the way in which these things function in Ireland. The Haddington Road agreement was signed up to by all the teaching unions. The Lansdowne Road agreement was signed up to by the INTO although the other two unions have issues with it. As I said in my opening remarks, the emphasis in the Lansdowne Road agreement is on restoring salaries to lower paid workers first, which obviously benefits those who have come in on the lower scales.

It is not practical to imagine that no change to entry salaries for public servants would ever be envisaged. Entry salaries are a matter of consideration depending on where the economy is at a particular time. It is not something we can say will never happen; it does happen. What we have tried to do, and are doing in Lansdowne Road in particular, is to put the emphasis on lower paid workers in general, including the newer teachers who are on the lower scale.

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