Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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360. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason teachers in new appointments must wait eight weeks without pay for her Department to get them on payroll; if she appreciates the financial strain this places teachers under; the steps she will take to reduce this unnecessary burden on teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43949/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to outline to the Deputy details of the procedures to process applications for teachers and school staff 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 are filled. Vacancies may arise in schools as a result of additional teaching posts being allocated, retirements, teachers moving to another school, career breaks, job sharing arrangements, or other absences.

Once a school has selected a successful candidate for a vacancy, they must provide the teacher’s appointment 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 late June or early July will be paid on the first pay date in September. For the 2024/25 school year, these dates were 12th July, 2024 for primary school teachers and Non Teaching Staff, and 28th June, 2024 for post primary schools.

Appointment forms received after these dates are processed in date order of receipt. The majority of these appointment forms are also processed in time for salary payments to be made on the first pay date of September, or as early as possible thereafter.

It is therefore not the case that most teachers in new appointments will generally have to wait eight weeks without pay. The appointments for the majority of new teachers are processed in time to ensure that they can be paid at the earliest possible date from September of the new school year.

There are, however, many instances where a school forwards appointment forms after the start of the school year. This may be because it has taken some time for the school to recruit someone to a vacant position.

There are also instances where incomplete information is initially received and additional information is required in order to complete the processing of the appointment.

Where schools have not filled all of their allocated posts in advance of the school year, schools will continue to recruit teachers and may continue to submit appointment forms after the commencement of the school year, throughout October. In such cases a delay necessarily arises to adding the teacher to the payroll system

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 2024/25 school year, and any new applications received are dealt with as soon as possible upon receipt of the appointment forms.