Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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91. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has considered the reintroduction of an allowance for teachers on offshore islands; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57967/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department implemented the outcome of the review of allowances and premium payments (September 2012) by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The outcome of which was that many allowances were no longer payable to many new public service entrants including “new entrant” teachers.

Circular 0008 of 2013 outlines the effect of this review on teachers. In common with a number of job-role based allowances, sanction for payment to new beneficiaries of the Island allowance was withdrawn from 1st February 2012 under the terms of the Circular. Furthermore, if a teacher was eligible for receipt of the allowance prior to 1st February 2012 and subsequently left that job role on a voluntary basis, their entitlement to the allowance ceases from the date of the move and they cannot re-gain entitlement.

Additional amendments to teacher terms and conditions, including pay and allowances, may be achieved through engagement and collective bargaining agreements between the Government and the public service unions.

My colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, is overseeing the development of an Islands policy with the aim of providing a coordinated Departmental response to address the socio-economic and structural needs of island communities. In that context my Department is contributing to the process with the aim of supporting effective delivery of education on the islands.

Background:

- 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.

- Following a public service-wide review of allowances and premium payments conducted by the Minister for PER, the Government approved a number of measures relating to public service allowances.

- Certain allowances were withdrawn for new beneficiaries (including “new entrant” teachers” with effect from 1 February 2012 which included the offshore island allowance. Department Circular 08/2013 sets out the outcome of this review.

- Additional amendments to teacher terms and conditions, including pay and allowances, may be achieved through engagement and collective bargaining agreements between the Government and the public service unions.

Island Policy Development

- In 2019 , the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, which held the islands remit at the time, together with 11 other participating Government Departments came together to reinstate the Inter-Departmental Committee for the Islands, with the aim of providing a coordinated Departmental response to the socio-economic and structural needs of island communities.

- The islands now come under the remit of the Department of Rural and Community Development and the aim to develop an islands policy is included in the Programme for Government.

- The policy development process involved a number of strands, including consultation with island communities to identify their specific challenges, and meetings with Departments and other stakeholders to consider their responses to these challenges.

- The Department of Rural and Community Development are working on finalising the policy and action plan by the end of the year.

- Each Department has been working on identifying actions to be included in the first action plan, which is to be published in conjunction with the islands policy.

- My Department’s actions focus on the development of digital services, as well as supports to school transport and the wellbeing of learners.

Supports for Small Schools

- A two-year action research project aimed at supporting small rural schools is underway, in which clusters of small schools work together, enabling them to collaborate and identify common challenges and trial innovative solutions for the sustainability of small schools.. This project will run until January 2024

- This reflects a commitment in the Programme for Government to support small schools in their communities to provide a more sustainable future for them. It is acknowledged that particular unique challenges exist for small schools and this innovative project works with clusters of small schools within a particular region, enabling them to collaborate and identify common challenges and trial innovative solutions.

- This project was developed by a working group of school management bodies and teachers’ unions with the Department for Education, as part of the programme of work of the Primary Education Forum (PEF). The PEF comprises all primary education partners, including parent representatives, working collaboratively with the Department of Education.

- Six project clusters of small schools have been formed, two in Galway, and one in each of Donegal, Kerry, Wicklow and Waterford, consisting of between three and five schools per cluster. The clusters are supported by part-time local coordinators sponsored by the education partners, working with a national coordinator under the guidance of a steering group. As an integral part of the project an evaluation will take place and a final report, including analysis of scalability of actions undertaken, will be compiled.

- A number of projects are underway within the clusters to explore different aspects of sustainability including; shared approach to policy making, wellbeing across the school community, development of distributed leadership and strengthening middle management within schools, shared training and CPD, administrative support.