Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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141. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on providing a Dublin allowance for teachers given the high costs-of-living and accommodation in particular. [5211/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The quality and commitment of Irish teachers is at the bedrock of our education system and has been key to unlocking Ireland’s potential as a knowledge economy. A range of measures are in place to ensure that teaching remains an attractive profession and that schools are supported in recruiting the staff they need.

Pay and workplace reform measures for public servants have been governed by a framework of public service pay agreements for a number of years with the current agreement “Building Momentum” now extended until the end of 2023. The value of public pay deals to the Government and the taxpayer is ensuring that pay costs are managed in a sustainable and orderly way and in a climate of industrial peace. By and large public pay agreements have delivered on these objectives over the last 12 years. The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start and new entrant pay has been gradually restored over the years.

The extension to Building Momentum provides for further increases of 6.5% to October 2023 (for a total of 8.5% to 9.5% over the entire agreement) for over 100,000 staff in the school sector as well as retired staff. In terms of teacher pay specifically, by next October, a teacher on point 1 of the scale would earn a minimum of €41,390, an increase of more than €10,000 per annum since 2012. A teacher on point 14 of the scale would earn at least €62,430 and those on the top point at least €77,000.

The Government is committed to the delivery of quality public services and will continue to approach public service pay in a balanced way that is reasonable and fair to both public servants and to the taxpayer. However, the Government acknowledges that the housing issue and the current price pressures in society present particular challenges and are a source of concern for all public service workers, including staff in the education sector.

Housing remains a priority matter for Government, led by my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Housing for All strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system.

However, these current pressures are not unique to any one sector, and therefore a measure such as that referred to by the Deputy could not fairly be explored for any one group of workers. Any review of changes to pay, or other pay mechanisms such as an allowance like that proposed, can occur only under central processes and any specific proposals would need to be considered in detail by my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the relevant unions.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for his question on my Department’s development of a new literacy, numeracy and digital strategy. I welcome this opportunity to provide an update on this crucial element of my work as Minister for Education.

As the Deputy is aware, under the Programme for Government, my Department is tasked with the development of a successor Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy to the 2011 Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. The 2011 strategy achieved a significant amount and I am eager that we continue the progress that has been made and also learn from the considerable knowledge gained along the way.

This new strategy will be for all learners in early childhood and care, primary and post-primary schools and will run for ten years.

I and my officials are committed to this strategy being developed against robust research, to include consideration of national and international practice. To this end my Department commissioned a review of literature which, alongside an extensive consultation process, will feed into the development of the strategy.

A public consultation is ongoing and will close on 3rd February. I am delighted to report that we have received a significant number of responses from the public so far on this very important topic.

Focus group consultations and bilateral meetings will commence in the coming weeks and a stakeholder consultation event will also be held in the coming months. These will all feed into the development of the new strategy which will be published in the coming months.

I hope this information is of assistance to the Deputy.