Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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144. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address an anomaly in the process of the abolition of allowances from new beneficiaries from January 2011 which has left a small number of teachers, who were completing their fourth year of an honours degree in Marino Institute of Education in the academic year 2011-12, unequally remunerated; and her views on the announcement of 5 December 2011 as the arbitrary day on which teachers completing further qualifications had to be working to benefit from the allowance for those completing a further qualification during the year 2011-12; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3344/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In 2012 a public service-wide review of allowances was carried out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. As a result qualification allowances were abolished with effect from 1st February 2012.

The Department's Circular provided an exception. This applied where as at 5 December 2011 a teacher was in employment on that date, and was eligible for receipt of a qualification allowance in respect of the post they held on that date, and that teacher was actively undertaking a course of further study leading to an additional qualification. The exception also required that the teacher did not cease to be a registered student on that course before its completion.

The issues raised by the Deputy have been brought to the Teachers' Conciliation Council (TCC) by representatives of the teachers concerned and it would therefore not be appropriate to comment further until the issues have been deliberated on by that forum. The TCC is part of the scheme of Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for Teachers and is composed of representatives of the teacher representative bodies, school management, this Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and is chaired by an official of the Labour Relations Commission.