The Minister for Education Richard Bruton, today welcomed the Report from the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, in accordance with Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017. The Report addresses the matter of the pay of new entrants to the public service. This is done in the context of the above statutory framework and the provisions of the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) 2018-2020.
The Report sets out the circumstances which gave rise to pay reductions during the financial crisis, particularly those resulting from the collapse of tax revenue in the period 2008-2011. It reflects on the impact of the crisis on labour market conditions in both the private and public sectors and its impact on both remuneration and recruitment.
The report acknowledges that there were general policy changes which affected remuneration in different occupations in the broad public sector. However, it focuses specifically on the measures which were generally applicable across the sector.
In regard to the pay of new entrants, it notes that progress was made on addressing this issue under the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA) with the new entrant scales being merged with the existing scales. In the education sector, a 15-22% increase has brought the starting salary for a newly qualified teacher straight out of college to €36,000. This increase was negotiated by Minister Bruton and Minister Donohoe and the teacher unions. The second increase under this agreement was paid from 1st January 2018. The first point of the teacher pay scale will be €37,600 in October 2020 under the terms of the PSSA.
The report published today assesses the cost of a further change which would provide a two scale point adjustment to new entrants recruited since 2011. The total cost of such an adjustment across the public sector is of the order of 200 million euro. The cost for the education sector alone is estimated at 83 million euro.
Finally, it is noted that the work will inform discussion on remaining salary scale issues with the parties to the PSSA 2018-2020 in accordance with Section 4 of the Agreement.
Welcoming the report, the Minister for Education and Skills, Mr. Richard Bruton said:
“I welcome the publication of this report. It provides a useful basis for further consideration of matters relating to new entrant pay, both in the public sector generally, and in education."
The report also demonstrates the level of recruitment which has been taking place, with more than 23,780 new entrant jobs (FTE) in education created since 2011, out of the 60,513 new entrant jobs created across the public service.
This report merits detailed discussions between government and the parties to the Agreement and I look forward to those discussions commencing in the near future and to further progress on this matter.”