Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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414. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding pay inequality; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44940/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. The starting salary for a new entrant teacher in 2012 was €30,702. As a result of the programme of pay restoration, the starting salary of a teacher is now €37,692.

Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 provides that “the Minister [for Public Expenditure and Reform] shall, within three months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before the Oireachtas a report on the cost of and a plan in dealing with pay equalisation for new entrants to the public service.” The report laid before the Oireachtas on foot of this provision by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform assesses the cost of a further change which would provide a two scale point adjustment to new entrants recruited since 2011. The total cost of such an adjustment across the public sector is of the order of €200 million, of which Education accounts for approximately €83 million. The report also acknowledges that, during the financial crisis, there were policy changes which affected remuneration in different occupations across the public sector (including education).

The matter of new entrant pay is a cross sectoral issue, not just an issue for the education sector alone. The Government supports the gradual, negotiated repeal of the FEMPI legislation, having due regard to the priority to improve public services and in recognition of the essential role played by public servants. The total year one cost of equalising the pay of new entrant teachers to the pre-2011 arrangements is estimated to be in the region of €59 million per annum in year one (€45 million for full resolution of pay scales and €14 million for re-instatement of the H.Dip allowance). The costs would rise in subsequent years as more new entrants join the system. On 24 September 2018, an agreement was reached between the Government and the public services committee of ICTU in respect of new entrant pay. This agreement is benefitting 18,000 teachers and nearly 5,000 SNAs within the education sector. The deal provides for a series of incremental jumps for new entrants.

On 10 December 2020, draft proposals on a new public service pay agreement were agreed following formal discussions between DPER and the Public Services Committee of ICTU, with consultation and input from the sectors including my Department. These proposals will now be considered in detail by the various unions and their members. There is a specific provision in relation to new entrant teacher pay which allows for the skipping of Point 12 of the pay scale which is a further improvement in pay for new entrant teachers. This measure will resolve in full the remaining salary scale issues pertaining to new entrant teachers. This builds on the series of restorative measures for new entrants have been achieved through the various pay agreements. It shows the benefits that continued engagement and collective bargaining between the Government and the public service unions can bring.