Officials from the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and representatives from the INTO and TUI have had a series of meetings since July to fully scope out the issues relating to pay arrangements for newly qualified teachers recruited since 1 February 2012.

These discussions took place within the provisions of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) and the TUI/DES Agreement of May 2016.

Following Minister Bruton’s meeting with INTO and TUI yesterday evening, we are pleased to announce that, contingent on the introduction of certain reform measures, a new incremental salary scale will be developed which is designed to address the current difference in pay for teachers recruited since 1 February 2012.

This agreement will result in increases of up to €2,000 per year for new teachers at the start of their careers. It is estimated that over a teacher’s career the value of these increases will be €135,000.

This improvement for new teachers follows on from the recent increase of €796 per year for every teacher covered by the Lansdowne Road Agreement in respect of substitution and supervision payments.  A further €796 in respect of substitution and supervision is to be added to the pay scales for teachers covered by the Lansdowne Road Agreement in September 2017.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Mr. Richard Bruton T.D. said:
“Today's announcement is great news for new teachers. This agreement shows what is possible through dialogue and negotiation within the Lansdowne Road Agreement”.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D. said:
“Much work has been undertaken in recent months in respect of this issue. Through negotiation and full engagement a result has now been reached that is agreeable to all. The Government is wholly committed to the implementation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement as the most appropriate way for progress to be made on pay restoration and reform of our public services into the future. This agreement shows how the LRA can resolve issues of concern for our public servants”.

The implementation of the revised salary arrangement will be implemented in two phases on 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2018. The effect of this will be to assimilate all post-1 January 2011 and post-1 February 2012 new entrants to teaching onto a single new salary scale which will incorporate the honours primary degree allowance. This new arrangement will apply to members of the teachers’ unions which have signed up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement (INTO and TUI).


Note:
The agreement on new entrant pay will apply to members of the teachers’ unions which have signed up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement (INTO and TUI). ASTI has not signed up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

Qualification allowances were withdrawn for new teachers with effect from 1 February 2012. The most significant of these was the honours primary degree allowance (which had a value of €4,918 per year). This was withdrawn, and some improvements were made to the pay scale to alleviate the effects of this withdrawal on teachers in the early years of their careers. The effect of these changes was to reduce pay by amounts that varied depending on where teachers are on their pay scale. For teachers in the early years of their pay scale, this meant reductions in their pay of up to €2,000. Today’s agreement reverses those measures, thereby restoring the value of those reductions to the teacher pay scale.

In addition to the agreed improvement in pay for new teachers, the following benefits apply to teachers covered by the Lansdowne Road Agreement: