MINISTER FOR Education Batt O’Keeffe has denied any U-turn on his budget cuts and says the new deal on teacher substitution cover will yield significant savings.
The department believes the new limits on teacher cover will save €16 million at second level and up to €5 million annually at primary level.
In the past 10 days, Mr O’Keeffe has rowed back on his budget proposals on substitution. However yesterday he said: “If these cost-saving, efficiency-driven measures are considered a U-turn, then I’ll gladly live with that description.”
He said: “The significant savings identified and the agreement to deliver greater efficiencies for less money will be seen by most people as a bold and sensible achievement, not a climbdown.”
Further substantial medium-term savings and efficiencies at primary and post-primary levels will be realised over the next six months after review of substitution, he said.
The Minister acknowledged he was “making some changes”, but, he said, “if any fair-minded person thoroughly analysed what we are doing, they would find that our agreement with school managers is a sensible cost-saving measure that will deliver better value for money in the operation of the scheme, while addressing the concerns of the school community”.
The reality was that primary and post-primary school managers came to him with constructive cost-saving proposals.
“I’ve always said that my door was open to such constructive proposals. It would not have made sense to ignore the school managers’ proposals when they clearly benefited the school community while at the same time broadly remaining within the budgetary parameters set down by the Government. The proposals essentially involve replacing the open-ended or demand-led availability of substitute cover.
“We will now have an allocated or budgeted scheme for uncertified sick leave and official school business at post-primary level and much more limited substitution cover for uncertified sick leave at primary level.”
Mr O’Keeffe wants to achieve savings of €30 million in the scheme which now costs over €180 million a year. The row-back in the past 10 days will, he says, cost about €4.7 million until the end of the school year.
He commended school managers for “working with us to put these cost-efficient new substitution arrangements in place”.
The Opposition should follow the lead of the schools and offer constructive proposals, he said.