Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is an issue with which I am well familiar. I have discussed it directly with many individual teachers over the last decade or so. All the progress that has made has been made through collective negotiation and co-operation between trade union officials and officials in my Department and the Department of Education.

As I said, the current Building Momentum agreement specifically provides for skipping point 12 of the pay scale for new entrant teachers. The agreement states it will "resolve in full the remaining salary scale issues pertaining to new entrant teachers." That is what the current public service agreement, an agreed document between ICTU and the Government, currently provides for this and we are fully implementing that measure. We have made considerable progress in respect of that.

In a moment, perhaps I can touch on the sectoral bargaining fund, which is a channel through which any final remaining issues the unions believe are there can be dealt with. They have, for example, been raising issues about what was formerly known as the HDip and the allowance in respect of that. There is also an opportunity to have that issue addressed.

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