Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will implement equality of pay for newly qualified teachers. [16487/17]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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This question seeks to ask whether the Minister for Education and Skills will implement equality of payscales for newly qualified teachers. This is a running issue. I acknowledge some progress has been made on it, and I was pleased to be able to utilise the pressure of the Fianna Fáil Party in this regard. We have a commitment on this. It is an issue that is affecting morale in many schools, despite the progress, because people will not be happy, and rightly so, until full equality of payscales is achieved.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Equality and fairness are, of course, at the heart of everything this Government is trying to do, particularly in the education area where I am particularly focused on creating better opportunities for people from disadvantaged communities in our schools system and in higher education. The recent budget included measures seek to do this.

The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration to start. I have used this to negotiate substantial improvements in pay for new teachers. The agreement reached with the TUI and the INTO in September will see pay rises of between 15% and 22%, that is between €4,600 and €6,700, for new entrant teachers. The agreements also provide for earlier permanency for younger teachers, new promotion opportunities and new flexibilities in working hours. The pay increases for new teachers were, of course, also available to ASTI members but unfortunately in a recent ballot they were not carried.

The agreements have restored an estimated 75% of the difference in pay for more recently recruited teachers and deliver full equality at later points in the scale. This is substantial progress and strikes an equitable balance with other claims for funding on my Department, particularly for example enhanced services for children with special educational needs, disadvantaged schools, growing schools, higher education and apprenticeships. I could list many more.

Further negotiation on new entrant pay cannot focus on just one sector. A broader assessment of pay and new entrant pay across the public service will be informed by the analysis of the Public Service Pay Commission, and it will look at individual sectors such as teaching. I accept the teachers' unions have outstanding pay demands and that the new entrant deal does not travel the full distance they set out to achieve. However, it does represent significant progress and the door is not closed to the trade union movement seeking to advance the issue further in the context of future public service pay talks. Negotiations on a successor agreement to the Lansdowne Road agreement will shortly get under way.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I and my party have repeatedly called on the Minister to make a full public statement on his and the Department's commitment to achieving equality of payscales and equality of pay for newly qualified teachers. While this is an issue across the public sector the number of public servants affected by this is disproportionately large in the Minister's Department and among teachers. This is why the Minister for Education and Skills needs to be at the vanguard of this, making the case at the Cabinet table and making the case publicly for our newly qualified teachers. This in itself will be a signal of seriousness of intent and hope for newly qualified teachers that they can get to a situation where their payscales are equal. It would also send out a strong message to the ASTI. There would be no excuse for rejection of what is on the table if the Minister was to make these types of statements. He has not done this and it has not helped the situation. He could do it in the way Fianna Fáil has done it, and perhaps offer a pathway to full equality and state this is when it can happen, that it will take time and that we have the public sector pay commission. Giving this indication as to how it will happen would mean a lot in terms of teacher morale.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, has pointed out, full restoration of all of the cuts would cost close to €2 billion and we have to make a phased arrangement. Under existing arrangements we are making a commitment of not far off €1 billion in restoration over the period of this agreement. We have the public pay commission and I know the INTO and TUI will pursue the cases the Deputy has made. From my point of view, I have to deal with public pay policy and I also have to try to deliver equity to those who have need and a call on the Department. With regard to what we can achieve in any given year, we have to balance the rightful ambition for teachers and young teachers to see restoration of pay with the other demands on the Department. These issues are encapsulated in the Lansdowne Road agreement. This is the arena within which we seek to resolve these balances and it is continuing with the Public Service Pay Commission and the successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement. This is the arena where we have to address the issues raised by the Deputy.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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We have made some progress. This time last year at their conferences, young teachers got together and demanded progress and the political system reacted. Fianna Fáil certainly used its position to make this progress happen with the INTO and the TUI and I congratulate their negotiators for the work they have done and which they continue to do in terms of putting pressure on the political system and forcing us to make sure their demands are heard. This was progress. There is nothing to say the Minister cannot say that as a political system and Government we need to acknowledge that pay equality is what we need to achieve. Nobody is expecting the Minister to write a cheque this year because we know there has already been an uplift in January and there will be another one next January. Nobody is expecting the Minister to write a cheque immediately, but he should give a signal that he is serious about this and that it can happen. The Minister gave this signal last summer when those negotiations started. We are at an early stage, but it is very important that in Dáil Éireann we continue to advocate on behalf of those newly qualified teachers and to state what has been going on with regard to their salaries is wrong, and that the Minister joins in this call, particularly at the Cabinet table.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I negotiated a deal with the three unions. In the event, one of them was not able to carry the agreement. It has restored 75% of pay and delivered full equality at later points in the payscale. I know the trade unions representing teachers will go to the Public Service Pay Commission, which is an objective, fair and independent body, to assess the very issues on the table. There will be various issues put forward by the trade unions in various parts of the sector. We must rely on the trade unions, the commission and the subsequent successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement to deal with these issues fairly and deal with the various elements of the demands for various parts of the public service unions. This is the arena we have created and it allows us not only to meet the rightful ambitions of workers in the public service but also to deliver the improved services for which the Deputy's party also asks. We are trying to strike this balance. We are doing the best we can with the available resources and we have a good process that gives people an avenue to pursue their concerns.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Permission has been given to Deputy Curran to deal with Question No. 36.