Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. The Minister of State is very welcome and I thank him for his attendance. I raise the teacher exchange scheme which is designed to facilitate primary school teachers to temporarily exchange their posts for educational purposes. The minimum period for which they can do this is one year and the maximum period is five years. I understand more than 230 teachers are currently taking part in the scheme which, by and large, works very well.

Teachers on exchange for up to five years develop ties with the area to which they have relocated. Some may find that their circumstances change and they may wish to remain in the exchange school. After a five-year period, some will have met a partner, settled down, had children and become embedded in the exchange school community. The schools, by extension, are also pleased to retain a teacher who has become an integral part of the school's staff and life. Unfortunately, the rules set out in the circular under which the scheme operates are rather rigid. I ask the Minister of State to examine the circular with a view to providing a degree of flexibility to those who wish to remain in the exchange school on a permanent basis after the five-year period has elapsed. Such a change would be cost neutral to the Department.

Some flexibility is required. I accept that all parties must be in agreement on any proposal to make the exchange post permanent. In other words, the exchange teachers, the respective schools and their boards of management would have to agree to it. If such agreement were reached and everyone was happy with the position, the five-year cap should be removed. As I indicated, the change I propose would be cost neutral and would proceed only where everybody was satisfied with the proposal. I ask the Minister of State to issue a circular to school boards of management advising that the five-year cap may be removed and those who wish to make the exchange permanent may do so.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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I thank Senator Robbie Gallagher for raising this matter and affording me an opportunity to outline to the House the position with regard to the teacher exchange scheme.

The provisions of the scheme are set out in Circular 17/2015, the contents of which were agreed under the auspices of the Teacher Conciliation Council. The Teacher Conciliation Council is part of the scheme of conciliation and arbitration for teachers and was established to deal with claims and proposals relating to the terms and conditions of employment of teachers. The council is composed of representatives of teachers, school management, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and is chaired by an official of the Workplace Relations Commission.

The teacher exchange scheme is open to primary teachers who are registered with the Teaching Council, have completed probation and wish to exchange their posts for educational purposes. Educational purposes include enabling teachers in primary schools to gain experience of teaching in different types of settings. For example, a teacher could seek an exchange from an urban school to a rural school or vice versa;a large school with a single class per teacher to a smaller school with multi-grade classes; a junior school, namely, a school were infants to second class are taught, to a senior school where third to sixth class pupils are taught; a single gender school to a mixed gender school; an ordinary school to a special school; or from a DEIS school to a non-DEIS school.

The concept is that teachers will gain a different experience, enrich their knowledge and understanding of their professional work and share this understanding with colleagues. The minimum period for which an exchange may occur is one year and the maximum is five years. In the current year, the issue of this limit and the purpose of the scheme was reviewed under the auspices of the Teacher Conciliation Council. Having considered the matter in detail and taking into account all circumstances, both the trade union and management partners considered that their preferred option was to retain the existing scheme for educational purposes. Available teaching posts are to be filled by redeployment, in the first instance, in accordance with the redeployment schemes or with the recruitment and appointment procedures, as agreed and published in the Department's governance manual for primary schools.

To facilitate this review and in an exceptional matter and without prejudice to Circular 17/2015, it was decided to extend the maximum period of exchange for teachers who were in their fifth year of the scheme for one further year. I have set out precisely what has occurred. The Department asked the various governance bodies associated with the teacher exchange programme to review the scheme. Discussions were held among the various bodies and they recommended that no changes be made. That is the current position.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Most teachers who have taken part in the teacher exchange programme for five years will have set down roots in the area. If the school, local community and teacher in question are happy, it would seem fair and reasonable that a mechanism would be put in place to allow such exchange teachers to make their positions permanent.

The issue appears to be with trade unions and management. Perhaps the Minister of State will use his good offices to arrange a meeting to ascertain if we can make progress on this issue. He stated that, without prejudice and all things being equal, he would, subject to the trade unions and management being satisfied with any resolution, examine the option I have proposed.

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Yes. I intended to point out that I received views on the scheme from the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, CPSMA, and the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education, NABMSE, and the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. A major effort was made to bring on board all the relevant bodies when we decided to review the scheme. The final decision was not made by the Department, which sought to ensure that all bodies associated with education would have a say on the matter. I suggest that Senator Gallagher seek a meeting with the Teacher Conciliation Council which is, as I stated, composed of representatives of various bodies. If I can facilitate such a meeting, I will be pleased to do so. If the Senator lets me know when he will be available, I will discuss the matter with the council. I am sure its representatives will meet the Senator.

The Senator made some relevant points. The difficulty facing me and the Department is that, having asked the relevant authorities, namely, the trade union movement, schools and school management, for recommendations and advice, we have little option but to accept their advice. The group we appointed reviewed the scheme and indicated it was satisfied with it. Nevertheless, I am sure it would be open to discuss the issue, particularly individual cases. As I indicated, teachers who are in the fifth year of the programme may have the exchange extended by another year. If the Senator wants me to arrange a meeting with the Teacher Conciliation Council, I will be delighted to do so.