Further education minister 'not happy' ETBs not paying salaries to educators

Leonard Corcoran, Theresa Hassett, Cecile McCann and Marie Cronin from Cork City at the TUI conference in Wexford. Pictures: Patrick Browne

The minister for further education has said he is “not happy” some Education and Training Boards (ETB) have yet to offer their adult educators a salary, adding they “need to get on board fast”.

James Lawless told the annual congress of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) contracts for adult educators are expected to be “in place by September this year”.

The department had first been instructed by the Labour Court to offer such educators a salary and pension entitlements in 2020, although no such offer was made for four years.

Addressing the TUI conference in Wexford, president David Waters responded to the minister’s commitment to contracts being offered in September, saying “outrageously, some ETBs still haven’t even commenced processing it at all”.

TUI president David Waters said it was 'absolutely shameful' that Ireland 'ranks at the bottom' on the list of OECD countries for its investment in education.

“I’m not happy about that,” Mr Lawless said in response. “I would be engaged with those ETBs to understand why that is the case. ETBs should not be making their own industrial relations agreements where they’ve broken away from national contracts.

“I would say to those ETBs they need to get on board fast.”

In responding to the minister’s address to the union, Mr Waters was highly critical regarding the Government’s perceived failures within the education sector, such as in terms of funding imbalances and housing.

Conal MacSeain and Louise Mylotte from St Angela’s College, Sligo, at the TUI conference. 

The TUI president described as “absolutely shameful” the fact Ireland “ranks at the bottom” on the list of OECD countries for its investment in education.

Regarding housing, Mr Waters said the ongoing crisis was not “inevitable or undefeatable”.

“It is man-made. It was created by policy,” he said, adding it was “reprehensible that over the last decade there seemed to be far more concern around profit margins than the livelihoods of our own people — students, families, and teachers alike".

The minister, meanwhile, said despite the controversial reform of the senior cycle which is currently in train, there are unlikely to be similar changes made to the Leaving Cert’s points system, describing his feelings towards the CAO as being similar to those of Winston Churchill in describing democracy: “The least worst system, having tried everything else”.