Deputy O’Brien welcomes Department’s decision to reverse freeze on cuts to teachers’ allowances

Deputy O’Brien welcomes Department’s decision to reverse freeze on cuts to teachers’ allowances 5 November 2012 Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson Jonathan O’Brien, TD, has welcomed the decision by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) to reverse its decision to freeze qualification allowances for serving teachers who had commenced courses of further study from December 5th 2011. Describing the decision as a “small victory for common sense”, the Cork North Central Deputy said that teachers should have incentives to upskill. He continued: “If we are to achieve the highest standards in education, and match the success of progressive countries such as Finland and New Zealand, then we need to follow their example and ensure teachers are incentivised and rewarded for enhancing their skills at post-graduate level. “The decision by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) to reverse their freeze on allowances, whilst welcome, still only applies to qualifications that are additional to those required for teaching such as Master and Doctoral degrees and certain specialist teaching diplomas. “It is also clear that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has been forced to revise this short-sighted policy because of pressure from the teaching unions who have always maintained teachers have a legitimate expectation to receive allowances when they undertook their courses of study. “This announcement also highlights the unfairness of the cuts that have been imposed on newly qualified teachers whose pay and allowances have been hardest hit in recent times and Sinn Féin will continue to lobby the Minister to reverse this unjust policy change.”