Sir, - There seems to be a lot of confusion about teachers' starting salaries.
Over a quarter of all post-primary teachers do not have permanent contracts. Some of these are paid by the Department of Education and Science but most are paid hourly rates by their schools or VEC. The hourly rate at present is £19.09 before tax. This means that non-permanent teachers who teach full hours are earning £14,700. Many earn considerably less because they do not have full hours. These teachers do not get any degree or higher diploma allowances and are not paid during the summer holidays.
Becoming permanent takes many years. It is reckoned that most teachers work part-time for at least five years before they are offered a full-time position. Young graduates do not relish the prospect of earning less than £15,000 for an indefinite period before they get on to the Department's salary scale. If and when they do achieve this, they then might have to wait 23 years before they reach the maximum point in the scale. -Yours, etc.,
Kevin Lewis, ASTI Member.Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.