Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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483. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to amend the policy whereby teachers, or prospective teachers, must be on her Department’s payroll or teaching in an Education and Training Board school before an application can be processed for incremental credit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39252/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department’s Circulars 10/2001, for primary teachers, and 29/2007 and 29/2010, for post-primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers were agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC).

These circulars may recognise prior teaching or relevant non-teaching service. Where an application for relevant non-teaching service is made by a teacher, the teacher is required to demonstrate the relevance of such service in relation to the initial subjects they teach following that service.

It is also a requirement of these circulars that a teacher must be on payroll when claiming incremental credit.

While a teacher may subsequently qualify for an award of incremental credit, the Department is not able to carry out an assessment of a person’s prior service where a person is considering returning to teaching or where a person is considering on becoming a teacher in the first instance. The Department must prioritise the processing of applications for incremental credit from individuals who are currently employed as teachers.

The Department of Education and Youth has no plans to amend the policy whereby a teacher must be on payroll when claiming incremental credit.