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Dáil
‹ Questions on Promised Legislation

Gender pay gap and teacher equality

Summary

Deputy Carol Nolan linked International Women's Day to the widening gender pay gap and also raised inequality in teaching pay. The Tánaiste said the Government is acting on the gender pay gap, but that teachers' pay is a separate issue.

Page 10 of the programme for Government makes reference to affording every citizen equality of opportunity in a fair society. Today, as we know, is International Women's Day, but we have a huge gap in terms of pay between men and women. The gap is now 14%. It was 12% in 2012 so it is widening all of the time. This fact sends out a very clear negative message that the work women do is undervalued in society. We need to tackle this issue head on. We have inequality and we have the widening gap as I mentioned, but we also have pay inequality experienced by entrants into the teaching profession. Post-2011 entrants experience a loss over their career of between €53,000 and €105,000. This is a disgrace. As a woman, as a former teacher and as a former INTO representative, I ask the Tánaiste to address these inequalities. When will the report on teachers' pay and a plan towards equalisation be published? Will we have an opportunity to debate the report? I sincerely hope, in the interests of fairness, that we do.

Comment on this

The Deputy's time is up. We cannot debate it now.

Comment on this
Simon Coveney The Tánaiste Fine Gael

The Deputy has raised two separate issues. I answered an earlier question on the gender pay gap in terms of how the Government is approaching it. There are tangible examples in terms of how the Government is trying to change the fact that for many women their work is undervalued financially. This is separate to teachers' pay.

Comment on this

It is about equality.

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Simon Coveney The Tánaiste Fine Gael

Teaching is one of the professions where there is not a gender pay gap between men and women.

Comment on this

No, but there is inequality.

Comment on this

Please, Deputy.

Comment on this