A breakdown of the changes in social welfare benefits, payments and income tax relating to teachers at post-primary level will reach schools this week. The information, compiled by the ASTI, includes details about family income supplement, disability benefits, invalidity pensions, maternity benefits, unemployment benefits, one-parent family payments and occupational injury benefits.

Many teachers will not be aware that they may be entitled to Family Income Supplement (FIS), or that in some cases - e.g. for some part-time teachers - they may be able to claim Unemployment Benefit. According to Edna Hoare, newly-appointed executive official with the ASTI, only 40 per cent of the people who are entitled to Family Income Supplement take it up. (Those eligible include employees who are in paid full-time employment which is expected to last for three months and work at least 19 hours every week.) This year, the FIS is to be calculated on net earnings.

In general, Hoare says, low-paid members or those teachers who are just starting out on their careers on the lower rungs of the incremental salary scale will not benefit greatly from the Budget. John White, deputy general secretary of the ASTI, says "teachers will be pleased with the PAYE consessions for middle-income earners but will be deeply disappointed that no attempt was made by the Government in these boom times to address the fact that our teachers and pupils are struggling with the largest class sizes in Europe". Another issue that was being watched closely last week was the PLC grants issue. The day after the Budget, Minister for Education Micheal Martin announced that third-level maintenance grants will be paid to PLC students. Alice Prendergat, TUI president, welcomed the news. "This represents a victory of the campaign waged by TUI. We hope that this will encourage more young people to progress to further education by taking up the option of PLC courses."

The TUI will press for the payment of grants to PLC students from next September, in spite of the Minister's suggestion that details of payment might take longer than that to finalise.

Teaching News is compiled by Catherine Foley