Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of restoring entry level pay scales to pre-financial emergency measures in the public interest levels, that is, equal pay for newly qualified teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19344/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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As a consequence of the financial crisis, there was a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure so as to stabilise the country's public finances. A previous Government reduced the salaries and allowances payable to all new entrants to public service recruitment grades by 10% with effect from 1 January 2011. This decision also required that such new entrants would start on the first point of the applicable salary scale, which in the case of teachers had the effect of reducing their starting pay by a further 4-5%. Later in 2011, the Government placed a cap on the overall level of qualification allowances that could be earned by teachers.

Subsequently in 2012, following the public service-wide review of allowances, the Government withdrew qualification allowances for new teachers altogether. However, the Government partially compensated for this by deciding that new entrant teachers would henceforth commence on a new salary scale which had a starting point higher than the starting point of the old scale.

In respect of teachers, the estimated cost of reversing the decision to withdraw qualification allowances from post-1 February 2012 entrant teachers is approximately €16 million per annum. In addition, the estimated cost of restoring all post-1 January 2011 entrant teachers (who have been recruited up to June 2016) to the pre-2011 pay scale arrangements is approximately €44 million per annum.

The cost figures set out above are inclusive of teachers on my Department's main payroll, substitute teachers, Employers' PRSI and include an estimated cost in respect of teachers in Education and Training Board schools. They do not include the cost of removing the cap on qualification allowances because a precise calculation of this would depend on the qualifications held by those individual teachers.

The Government has committed to establishing a Public Service Pay Commission to examine pay levels across the Public Service, including entry pay levels. The terms of reference and timescale for the Commission's work are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and would require broad consultation, including engagement with staff representatives as was committed to in the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The teacher unions have made it clear to my Department that this is an issue of major concern to them.