Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the House and thank the Cathaoirleach's office for selecting this Commencement matter this afternoon. I submitted it following representations from a group of independent teachers who operate under the name "fair post-primary redeployment for teachers". The group currently has 300 members nationwide, all of whom feel there is no way out of the situation they face.

I am sure it is a source of great celebration when teachers become permanent or are awarded a contract of indefinite duration, CID, and become permanent employees in their school but if, for whatever reason, they wish to move school or county, their choices are limited. In many cases, they would lose their permanency. Teachers who work for education and training boards, ETBs, for example, the Galway and Roscommon ETB or the Laois and Offaly ETB, can be redeployed but only within the specific ETB which limits the amount of options available. As I understand it, nurses, gardaí, primary school teachers and most public servants have the option of redeployment which is all the more frustrating for post-primary teachers who wish to move.

There is a post-primary voluntary redeployment scheme, applications for which must be made by February each year and decisions have to be made quite quickly. Some decisions will be made before vacancies are announced and before teachers have made the decision to retire or move on. Under the scheme, redeployment must be completed by the end of May each year so for the Department to complete a redeployment, schools have to be made aware of any vacancies - most likely retirements - by the end of May, which is a problem.

Teachers feel there is no way out if they want to work closer to home. I know of one woman in County Galway who teachers in County Cork. She just got married to a guy from Galway and they live in Galway. They have a mortgage and this is putting pressure on their marriage. Another member of the aforementioned group lives with his young wife and family in County Galway and travels to County Meath each day to work. They have to pay a mortgage so he cannot just give up a job in the hope that he will be made permanent in a new school. Again, this is putting the relationship under pressure.

A motion was passed at the Teacher's Union of Ireland, TUI, congress calling on the executive council of the union to negotiate with the Department of Education and other employers to establish a national voluntary redeployment panel and to ensure that those teachers who wish to relocate would keep their permanent or CID status. The motion called on the Department and other employers in the post-primary education sector to devise an appropriate online portal through which teachers seeking voluntary redeployment could enter their details to seek a direct swap with a matching teacher seeking a reverse relocation. Teachers believe that the establishment of such a scheme is essential for the well-being of teachers who may have to travel for hours daily to and from work. A guy living in Galway who works in Offaly travels 160 km per day. If he were to get a position within 10 km of his home that would mean 140 km less driving every day, not to mention 140 km worth of emissions. If the teacher who swaps with him does the same, then 280 km worth of carbon emissions would be saved per day. In a standard school year that equates to 46,480 km less driving for those two teachers, greatly enhancing their quality of life.It makes sense on paper. There may be issues with it but I ask for positive engagement from the Department, unions and school patrons on this.

Sharon Keogan (Independent)
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I welcome our visitors from Presentation Secondary School Warrenmount in Dublin to the Public Gallery. I apologise for delaying the Minister of State.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. It is lovely to see the students in the Seanad. I passed them as I was walking down the corridor from the Dáil. They are welcome, as are their teachers.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. This affords me the opportunity to outline the position with regard to teaching redeployment schemes currently operating in post-primary schools. Teacher allocations to all second level schools are approved annually by the Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and available on the Department website. The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for each individual school authority. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and the quality of teaching and learning are, in the first instance, a matter for the school management authorities.

The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers to schools where vacancies exist. Such a scenario may occur where enrolment drops in a school. This scheme includes provision for a teacher in a surplus school who wants to volunteer to redeploy from that school to another location, subject to the agreement of school management. This provision can be facilitated as a means of avoiding a compulsory redeployment. Ensuring efficiency in the annual redeployment processes is significant in terms of managing the overall teacher numbers.

Following discussions between the relevant stakeholders, a voluntary redeployment scheme has operated on a pilot basis in specific regions in recent years. Permanent teachers employed in these regions are given an opportunity to volunteer for a transfer to other areas in the country if such a transfer would create a vacancy that would facilitate the redeployment of a surplus permanent teacher in the region. To date, the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme has operated in 24 counties. The scheme assists the Department to achieve its objective of redeploying all the surplus permanent teachers. Teachers who applied under the scheme and were not facilitated with a transfer continue to have the option of applying for posts in their preferred location that are advertised in the normal manner.

Since the introduction of redeployment at post-primary level, more than 800 teachers have been redeployed, ensuring an equitable and fair teacher allocation system to all schools. The Department is mindful that, in selecting areas of the country for inclusion in the voluntary transfer scheme, it achieves its key purpose, which is to ensure that surplus teachers are successfully redeployed. Any future considerations around expanding or selecting new locations will be made in the context of the operation of the redeployment scheme.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for the response. She said more than 800 teachers have been redeployed. The figures for 2019 are 126 applications, of which eight were redeployed, while in 2018, 178 applied and 21 were redeployed. Those are relatively small numbers of successful redeployments. If teachers are willing to transfer, both have permanent contracts and teach the same subjects and no one is being coerced or forced, I do not understand why that cannot be done. If someone is living in Galway and wants to move to Cork while someone in Cork wants to move to Galway and they can be accommodated without losing their permanent status, a scheme needs to be developed that will allow that to happen. I ask for positive engagement from the Department of the Minister, Deputy Foley, following the TUI motion at congress. I look forward to future developments on that.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator.I agree with the Senator's point about that simple exchange where there are two people who are compatible in terms of the exchange and what they are teaching and where both school communities agree to it. One must wonder why there would be any barriers there. I will certainly raise this with the Minister. I agree also with Senator Kyne that the only way to reach a solution to an issue is through positive engagement around the table. I will certainly take on board the Senator's comments and I will feed them back to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and her Department.