Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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123. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for the secure unit allowance to be extended to all teachers teaching in both closed medium and high security prisons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30900/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Education and Youth, along with other Departments across the public service, implemented the outcome of the public service-wide review of allowances and premium payments (September 2012) by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (DPENDR). This meant that many allowances were no longer payable to “new entrants” including teachers. Among the allowances that had sanction for payment to new beneficiaries removed was the Secure Unit Allowance.

Under the Building Momentum Pay Agreement 2021 – 2023, a sectoral bargaining fund was established which provided for the settling of outstanding adjudications, awards and claims. The primary sector unions opted to use their sectoral bargaining fund to settle a number of outstanding claims or awards including Adjudication claim 438/15 - to pay the secure unit allowance to primary teachers who work in certain secure units/secure care settings. Circular 0017/2002 sets out the details of the payment of the secure allowance in the primary sector. In respect of post-primary teacher unions, they opted to use the sectoral bargaining funds available to them to settle other claims.

The current pay agreement, Public Service Agreement (PSA) 2024-2026, provided under Section 4.4.2, for the payment of the Environmental Allowance paid to Prison Officers in Portlaoise Prison to be extended to teaching staff in that location (under an adjudication finding of 02/04/2019) with effect from 1 January 2024. It did not provide for the payment in any other location.

The PSA 2024-2026 also provides for a local bargaining process to deal with outstanding adjudications, commitments, recommendations, awards and claims. Any 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.