John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has any concerns that cuts on newly qualified teachers will have a detrimental effect on both their morale and the willingness of young persons to enter such a low paid profession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43050/12]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has any concerns that progress made over the past decade in attracting our brightest and most qualified young persons to the teaching profession will be eliminated as a result of cuts to qualification allowances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43051/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 70 together.

As I have indicated earlier, it is neither possible nor appropriate to attempt to separate measures such as those impacting on the pay of new entrants from their context. These measures have to be viewed against the backdrop of a very serious financial and budgetary situation. They reflect a position where this country has lost its economic sovereignty and no longer has full control over its economic affairs.

Reductions in the pay of new entrant public servants, including teachers, date back to the last Government. More recently, this Government has made further adjustments on foot of the allowances review.

In the case of teachers, while there has been a small decline in applications to the B.Ed for primary teaching between 2011 and 2012, the overall number of applications remains high. A similar trend obtains for the professional diploma in education (PDE), which is the main route to post-primary teaching. It is significant that successful applicants to the B.Ed courses in 2012 continue to be from the top quartile of Leaving Cert students, in terms of points.