Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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657. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the case of a person (details supplied) and award a special needs allowance to them; if not, the reason for not doing so; the way in which a person may submit an appeal on a refusal; and if there is another allowance or support that they are eligible for. [12813/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department implemented the outcome of the public service-wide review of allowances and premium payments (September 2012) by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform which means that many allowances, including this one, were no longer payable to Teachers who commenced working in the public sector on or after 1st February 2012.

Circular 008/2013 outlines the effect of this review on teachers to the effect that, in common with a number of job-role based allowances, sanction for payment this allowance was withdrawn from 1st February 2012. Furthermore, if a teacher was eligible for receipt of the allowance prior to 1st February 2012 and subsequently left that job role on or after 1st February 2012 on a voluntary basis, their entitlement to the allowance ceases from the date of the move and they cannot re-gain entitlement.

Circular 0037/2019 advises that the remaining conditions for entitlement to the Special Education Needs allowance as set out in Circular 0008/2013 remain in force. The current position in relation to the payment of a Special Education Needs Allowance is also referred to in Circular 007/2023 as follows:

It should be noted that certain allowances for new beneficiaries were abolished with effect from 1 February 2012 and their appearance in the attached pay scales does not confer an entitlement to the allowance where the staff member was not already entitled to the allowance. Please read in association with Circular 0008/2013 Public Service-Wide Review of Allowances and Premium Payments on current allowance entitlements Circular 008/2013

The relevant paragraph from Circular 0008/2013 clearly states that teachers who obtain the qualification after 31^stJanuary 2012 are not entitled to claim the allowance. Please see excerpt from the Circular below.

Diploma in Special Education (SEN)

22. The allowance for holders of the Diploma in Special Education/Diploma for Teachers in a specific disability category is payable where the teacher holds an eligible post on or before 31 January 2012 and has completed or was actively undertaking a relevant course of study in accordance with Paragraph 12 above. Teachers not already in receipt of the SEN allowance must apply within the time limits for qualifications allowances.

23. Eligibility for payment of the allowance will cease where the teacher ceases to carry out the duties associated with, or moves from, that job role, unless a teacher who, having been in receipt of this allowance for 4 years in their Special Educational Needs (SEN) role, is compulsorily re-assigned by the school authority from a SEN role to another role within the school OR who is compulsorily redeployed to another school may be entitled to retain the allowance where the school authority certifies that the teacher is continuing to contribute to Special Educational Needs (SEN) activities within their school.

In line with the provisions of the circular, the teacher does not qualify for the payment of the allowance as the special education qualification was obtained after the 31st January 2012.

Additional amendments to Teacher Terms and Conditions, including pay and allowances, can only be achieved through engagement and collective bargaining agreements between the Government and the public service unions. Any further amendments to alter the allowances paid to teachers, give rise to significant cost issues and should, as mentioned, be part of engagement and collective agreements between Unions and Government.

A senior member of staff has reviewed this teacher's individual circumstances and has confirmed that the criteria has been correctly applied and there is no entitlement to the payment of this allowance.