Changes to Public Services Allowances
19th September 2012 | News
Government has approved a number of measures relating to public service allowances for new beneficiaries.
In terms of the teaching profession, the impact of today’s Government decision will apply to new entrants only. Teachers already in receipt of the allowances in question will not be affected.
The following are the main measures as they apply to teachers:
- New entrant teachers will not receive qualification allowances but will start on a salary of â’¬30,702 which is equivalent to the fourth point of the existing scale. They will also have the option of being paid a pensionable allowance of â’¬1,592 for supervision and substitution which will bring their starting salary to â’¬32,294.
- To qualify for the supervision and substitution allowance of â’¬1,592, new entrants will have to provide 12 additional hours per year over and above the existing requirement.
- The Gaeltacht and Island allowances are being abolished in the case of new beneficiaries across the public service, including teachers, as is the teaching through Irish allowance.
The measures announced today will mean that the starting pay of new teachers will be â’¬1,538 lower than that paid to new entrant teachers last year.
Since February of this year, there has been a freeze on the payment of all allowances for new entrant teachers. Today’s announcement ends that position.
Teaching is one of the few areas within the public sector which does not face a moratorium on recruitment and with a growing school going population, opportunities for employment remain. As was reported in the media today, due to the growing demographics at school level, there will be a need for additional teachers to be recruited over the next three years.
