I thank the Deputy for his question. As he appreciates, there is a complex historical issue relating to pensions and adult education tutors. I understand that the maximum amount tutors can work in contact hours with learners is 20 hours per week under their existing contracts. In recognition of the associated work they do, such as programme development, class preparation, assessment and participation in continuous professional development, these tutors are paid at a multiplier of 1.75 of an hourly rate.
For pay purposes, these tutors did not have a whole time equivalent (WTE) comparator. For the purpose of calculating pensions only, a WTE of 35 hours was introduced over the calendar year in 2014. With the introduction of the new Adult Educator grade earlier this year, which is a direct result of an Industrial Relations agreement with the trade union representing this grade of staff, it is considered that there is now a WTE comparator for tutors. As a result changes must be made to the pension calculations. Officials in my Department, the Department of Education, Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI), and Education Shared Business Services (ESBS) are currently working on this issue. Existing tutors are being given the option of remaining on their existing terms and conditions or converting to the new Adult Educator grade.
