Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 28 of 26 February 2009, when the contract for his Department's new payroll system was first drafted; the length of time it took to draft this contract; the cost of the contract to date; the estimated final cost for the contract when the payroll system becomes operational in September 2009; the projected savings in administrative overheads that the taxpayer can expect to make from the implementation of this new system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12234/09]

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 28 of 26 February 2009, the reason the new payroll system in his Department is not due to begin operating until September 2009; the categories of teaching and non-teaching staff who will benefit from the use of the new payroll system; if this will include part-time, full-time and substitute teachers, caretakers, administration staff and secretarial staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12232/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 46 and 68 together.

My Department is responsible for the operation of the largest and probably the most complex payrolls in the country. There are approximately 84,000 personnel being paid on a fortnightly basis on these payrolls. These include teachers and special needs assistants employed in primary, secondary and Community/Comprehensive schools. The caretakers and clerical officers employed under the 1979 scheme and retired teaching and non-teaching staff are also paid. In the case of primary schools all full-time, fixed term and substitute teachers are now paid through my Department's payroll system. All categories of teachers employed in Secondary and Community schools including those referred to by the Deputy such as part-time and substitute are now paid on my Department's payrolls.

The integration of part-time and substitute staff into the payroll systems has resulted in reduced administration for schools. Tax, PRSI and other statutory deductions are now dealt with in my Department and schools are no longer responsible for payroll administration work such as revenue returns. The introduction of an on line claims system which enables schools to input claims for payment of the part-time and substitute teachers has also created efficiencies both in my Department and at school level.

The next stage in the development of the Department payrolls is to incorporate the part-time resource primary teachers that are currently paid by the management authorities of schools onto the system. My Department has not contracted for a new payroll system for incorporating those part-time resource teachers and the development work associated with this payroll is being undertaken by officials in my Department.

These teachers will be paid on the payroll from the 1st September this year and the arrears are due to be paid by November. It is projected that an additional 1,000 teachers will be added to the payroll systems. The records of service for these teachers are currently being recorded on the Department's personnel system.

There are no plans to expand the payroll systems to pay caretakers and clerical officers currently paid by the school management authorities.

The expansion of the payroll system in recent years has been undertaken as part of the normal work of my Payroll and Information Technology sections without additional staffing resources other than temporary staff for once-off data entry.