Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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Question 219: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her plans to lift the embargo on the appointments to posts of responsibility in schools taking into account her commitment indicated at the teachers conference for review of the situation. [31732/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Notwithstanding the difficult budgetary climate the Government has tried, as best as possible, to protect the front line services in the education sector. Unlike other areas of the public service teaching vacancies continue to be filled. Indeed the number of teaching posts is increasing due to demographics and the allocation of the additional posts in the renewed Programme for Government.

When the moratorium was introduced the Government exempted Principal and Deputy Principal posts in all primary and post-primary schools and these continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium is therefore limited to the Assistant Principal and Special Duties allowances payable to teachers on promotion. Vacancies at Assistant Principal and Special Duties level arise due to retirements in these specific grades and typically also from the knock on effect of filling Principal and Deputy Principal posts. What the school loses is the capacity to make a promotion by awarding the extra pay allowance to another teacher. The position whereby just over 50% of all teachers have promotion allowances is simply not sustainable.

Some further limited alleviation was announced in July for schools that are acutely affected by the impact of the moratorium at Assistant Principal level. The alleviation arrangements are set out in the published Department Circular 42/2010. It provides some delegated sanction for post-primary schools to fill Assistant Principal vacancies if they fall below certain minimum thresholds.

The filling of these posts will be notified by the relevant post-primary schools to the Department over the coming weeks. Applications for alleviation have also been received from over 110 primary schools and these are currently being examined and prioritised and the schools will be advised of the outcome in the coming weeks.