Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

253. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the length of time that it takes her Department to put a new teaching contract into payment; the reason that it is taking up to eight weeks to pay teachers who take up new contracts; if she is satisfied that new teachers and teachers taking up new contracts are being left without payment for such long periods during a cost-of-living crisis; the numbers of new contracts currently being processed; the number of new contracts that took more than two weeks to be processed in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52680/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to outline to the Deputy the details of the procedures to process applications for all teacher appointments at the start of each new school year and the commitment of staff of my Department to efficiently process these applications. 

Early in the New Year, each school is advised by my Department of their teaching allocations for the forthcoming school year. It is the responsibility of the school Management Authority to ensure that all teaching posts will be filled. Vacancies may arise in schools as a result of additional teaching posts, retirements, teachers moving to another school, career breaks, job sharing arrangements, etc. Once a school has selected a successful candidate for a vacancy, they must provide the teacher’s details to my Department in order to be set up on payroll.  These details are provided in an appointment form and include details of the teachers’ appointment, type of contract, Teaching Council registration details, bank details, etc. My Department gives an annual commitment to Schools, teachers, Unions and Education Partners that all correctly completed appointment forms received in Payroll Division in early July will be paid on the first pay date in September. For the 2022/2023 school year these dates were 8th July 2022 for Primary teachers and 1st July, 2022 for Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive schools teachers. It was not possible to set a relatively small number of these appointment forms up for the first pay date in September as the forms were incomplete. Difficulties were encountered in verifying details with schools or the teacher concerned as they were unavailable during the school summer closure period.

Appointment forms received after the July dates are processed in date order of receipt and many are processed in time for salary payment on the first pay date of September, or as early as possible thereafter. There are many instances where a school forwards a appointment form after the school year has begun.

My Department has received in the region of 10,000 appointment forms to date for the start of the 2022/2023 school year. In order to process this high volume in the months of July and August, the Payroll staff worked overtime during the week, at weekends and were constrained in taking leave. 

As appointment forms are submitted in paper format as well as by email and continue to be received and processed, I do not have data on the number of appointments that took more than two weeks to process. I can advise the Deputy however that once processed, the appointment has also to meet the payroll cutoff deadline date for inclusion in the next available pay run. This means that in most cases it will invariably take more than two weeks from date of receipt until processed and included in the next payroll for payment.

I wish to reassure the Deputy that staff in my Department are in direct contact with schools and teachers, on an ongoing basis. They are highly aware of the financial pressure that late payments of salary can place on teachers, especially newly qualified teachers and every effort is made to resolve issues as soon as possible and to ensure prompt payment. The majority of appointment applications have now been processed for the 2022/23 school year, and any outstanding applications are now being processed.