Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an audit has ever been conducted to ascertain the average number of contact hours per week lecturers in publicly funded third level institutions are engaging in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14344/11]

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 146: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills, if there has never been an audit to ascertain the average number of contact hours per week lecturers in publicly funded third level institutions are engaging in, if he will give an explanation; and his plans to carry out any such audit. [14345/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.

The standard contract for lecturers in the IoT sector commits them to deliver a maximum of 560 teaching contact hours per year, with a norm of 16 teaching contact hours per week. There is no specified contact hours in the contracts of university lecturers. I am not aware of any audit to ascertain the average number of contact hours per week lecturers provide and I do not propose to carry out such an audit. It is a matter for management in Higher Education institutions to manage their staff resources so as to maximise efficient and effective delivery of services. In line with the reforms required under the Croke Park agreement the new Strategy for Higher Education recommends a comprehensive review of existing contracts with a view to achieving a more modern employment contract for academic staff.

Under the terms of the Croke Park Agreement, academic staff in Universities are required to provide an additional hour per week to facilitate teaching and learning. The Agreement also requires academic staff to cooperate with the introduction of academic workload management and full economic costing models which will improve the quality of information available for resource management in universities.

Following discussions with the Teachers Union of Ireland under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission, agreement was reached that lecturing staff would, where required by management, deliver up to an additional two hours lecturing per week above the current weekly norms. In addition to this, lecturing staff would also deliver an additional hour per week by way of structured timetabled periods of availability of lecturers to students.

Implementation of the provisions of the Croke Park Agreement is proceeding following their acceptance by the unions in the Higher Education sector, and my Department has directed that all the provisions be in operation by the start of the 2011/12 academic year.