Teacher Retirements 31/1/12

Teacher retirements at primary level within predicted levels

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Press Statement Sheila Nunan, General Secretary Irish National Teachers’ Organisation on Teacher Retirements

Teacher retirements at primary level within predicted levels

The INTO said today that the number of 800 primary teachers retiring under the terms of the Croke Park Agreement was “not out of the ordinary”. The union said today that since 2008 an average of 930 teachers had retired each year.

Sheila Nunan, general secretary of the INTO said that there would be very few retirements at the end of the school year as those retiring next month had simply brought forward their retirement date by a number of months. She said the date was set by government and not negotiated by unions. The teacher unions actually sought a deferral until the end of the school year to avoid disruption but were refused.

Ms Nunan said the Croke Park Agreement did not offer an early retirement package to teachers. “Each teacher retiring next month already has enough teaching service to enable them to retire. There is no early retirement scheme in which people ‘get extra’ if they leave early.”

The INTO also said that retirements in primary schools will provide significant savings to government and give an opportunity to new teachers to find work. The union said most teachers retiring would be near the top of the salary scale while new teachers replacing them would be on a significantly reduced salary scale.

According to the INTO there are many more teachers seeking regular work than are retiring and cited one school that recently advertised three jobs and got three hundred applications.

The INTO said while there will be a loss of experience that change is part of everyday life and that experience would be replaced by youth, energy and enthusiasm. The union argued that the biggest concern for parents was to know that their child would be taught by a fully qualified teacher and that would be the case at primary level. “There are hundreds of teachers just waiting for a chance to get some experience, get their diplomas completed and get a foot on the ladder,” said Ms Nunan.

The INTO said no teacher will get a permanent job out of retirements this February. Any replacement job is temporary to the end of the school year.

Primary retirements over recent years: