merrion street

The Government today discussed the outcome of the recent discussions between the Department of Education and Skills and the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI). The ASTI membership is currently voting on the Haddington Road agreement.

Ministers have previously said that the continued payment of the Substitution and Supervision allowance to ASTI members is unsustainable.

The Government has decided that in the event of a further rejection of the Haddington Road Agreement, this allowance will be discontinued with effect from 17th January 2014 and that the discharge of substitution and supervision duties will be mandatory and unpaid from that date in line with the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement.

The Haddington Road Agreement provides for the integration of the supervision and substitution allowance into the pay scale of teachers in 2017 and 2018.

In addition, this Agreement removes the freeze on increments currently applying to ASTI members under the Financial Emergency legislation and provides for an improved pay scale for new entrant teachers together with a range of measures designed to improve the employment prospects of young teachers and to diminish levels of casualisation in teaching.