Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has any concerns that the cuts on newly qualified teachers will have a detrimental effect on both their morale and the willingness of young people to enter such a low paid profession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43120/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Measures in relation to the pay of new public service entrants, including teachers, have to be viewed against the backdrop of a very serious financial and budgetary situation. 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.