A spokesman for the Department of Education confirmed that about 1,000 part-time teachers had applied for refunds since it was revealed last summer in the Irish Independent that taxpayers and Government were facing a massive bill in this regard.

The newspaper published details of a briefing document prepared for Minister Batt O'Keeffe, which stated:

"Many of the teachers are likely to be entitled to be on a higher rate of pay than is currently paid to them and are due arrears of salary. . . By not paying the appropriate rate of salary to the teachers concerned, the department could be found to be acting unlawfully."

Two teachers have already obtained €35,000 and €55,000 in arrears after taking their case to the Rights Commissioner, which found the Department of Education had been in breach of laws which protect part-time workers.

Under the 2001 law, part-time teachers are entitled to be paid the same as their full-time colleagues to reflect their qualifications and experience. But the department had been paying them as if they were newly graduated teachers who had qualified with a pass degree, as opposed to the honours degree obtained by a majority of teachers.

To date, the department has been unable to quantify the extent of the bill to be paid because it never kept a payroll record for temporary teachers. Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe is said to have estimated the cost at about €45m.

The Department of Education has confirmed that a new payroll will be introduced in September to pay part-time teachers and ensure that the errors of the past seven years are not repeated. The department spokesman said the arrears payments would be made through the new payroll, so all statutory deductions such as tax and PRSI would be made.

"The details necessary to place the teachers on the payroll system have been received from approximately 1,000 teachers," he added. (Source: Irish Independent)