Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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48. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the circumstances in which it is permitted for academic staff in third level institutions to return to paid teaching duties following retirement; the oversight mechanism there is; if these staff continue to draw their occupational pension while being employed on the double; the numbers of these academics who are teaching in their paid retirement; the length of time for which they may continue to do this; if there is a quarterly mechanism to oversee such numbers; the section of the Oireachtas to whom the oversight falls; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43068/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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An Employment Control Framework is in place for the higher education sector which provides institutions with considerable flexibility to fill vacancies, through recruitment or promotions on the basis of meeting an overall ceiling of posts. Under this Framework the re-employment of retired staff should only occur in very limited exceptional circumstances and in these cases the salaries offered may not exceed 20% of the full-time salary an individual was in receipt of at the time of their retirement, adjusted to reflect the application of Government pay policy in the period since their date of retirement - including in particular the application of salary adjustments imposed under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009. Any such proposed arrangements must be notified in advance to the Higher Education Authority.

The Framework provides that vacancies should be filled by way of fixed term or fixed purpose contracts, as a "bridging mechanism" in terms of facilitating the orderly permanent, structural reduction in the numbers of staff serving in the public service, in line with Government policy.

My Department does not have details of the number of retired academic staff currently employed in the sector, however, I have asked the Higher Education Authority to seek to establish these numbers and I will forward the available information to you when it is received.