Allowances of €2.5bn paid out to teachers

Teachers have been paidallowances totalling €2.5bn on top of their salaries over the last five years, figures from the Department of Education show.

Almost half of the €500m paid annually in allowances to primary and secondary school teachers between 2007 and 2011 was for their qualifications.

They range from almost €600 up to €6,140 a year for a teacher with a PhD, and totalled almost €1.1bn between 2007 and 2011.