Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If that teacher voted "No" to the Lansdowne Road agreement will he or she receive the €1,000 for substitution and supervision work? That is my question to the Minister. If not, the Minister is punishing such teachers for exercising their democratic right. If teachers do not carry out the substitution and supervision work, somebody will have to do it and they will have to be paid. Why not pay the teachers who are doing this work and did it under the agreement with the expectation that it would be restored. Why undermine the teaching profession? Let us forget about the teachers for a minute and think of the good of the country and the fact that no country can survive without a good education system. That is the price that is being paid by hitting at the profession.

Equally the public service pensions reduction, PSPR, which was imposed on the pensions of retired public sector workers will be removed by the end of 2017 for approximately 80,000 of the 140,000 of those on a pension.However, while there is also a commitment to provide relief on the PSPR up to a cap of €900 for the remaining higher pensions, there is no commitment to have it removed in time. Many of our colleagues, retired or soon to retire, who have given invaluable service to society will, therefore, be adversely affected by this. Is the emergency over or not? I do not really believe it is over but because there is an election coming, it is over.