Teachers are to be given a second chance to apply for early retirement under a deal negotiated by the teachers' unions with the Department of Education yesterday. The new deal follows complaints from teaching unions and the Irish Vocational Education Association about the implementation of the early retirement scheme during the summer.
The revised PCW allowed for the early retirement of 400 primary and secondary school teachers before the start of the 1997/98 school year on the grounds of professional difficulties, being surplus to requirements or due to the demands of the changing education system.
The deadline for applications was originally June 30th but the circular explaining the requirements for early retirement was issued late and arrived in schools only in early June, after some teachers had already left for the summer.
Under the new agreement, new applications for early retirement will be considered and processed before the end of the year, although a final closing date for applications has yet to be agreed.
The agreement was welcomed by Mr Jim Dorney, general secretary of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, and Mr Charlie Lennon, general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland. Mr Lennon said it would go some way to assuaging teachers' concerns at the delay in sanctioning and providing information on the early retirement scheme.