To ask why TA’s in uk are paid so little compared to Irish counterparts?

[Positivenancy]

Just as the title says…SNA’s in Ireland are paid a starting salary of over 27k. Why are they only receiving 12-15k in the uk!! It’s terrible!

Just to clarify on the healthcare, what I meant is that there is public health care in the public hospitals etc that anyone can be referred to by their GP. Under 8's/over 70s free for GP etc, all maternity covered, A&E is free too if you have a GP letter and people who are on low wages are can apply for a medical card.
Appreciate that not everything is covered but I dont understand why people say we've no health care as if everyone has to go it alone.

Yes but it isn't comparable to the NHS.

Well all I hear is how the crap the NHS is and that it's crumbling so meh 💁
Also, if I need a GP appointment I don't have to wait 3 weeks and sell my soul to Lucifer.

I work as a TA and my take home pay is about £18600 for 33 hours per week. I think I get paid for 44.6 or 45 weeks a year which I think would put me on an annual equivalent of about £21500 if it wasn’t term time only.

This is one of the best and least stressful jobs I’ve had. I love it. I think the pay is quite fair for what I do. I have very little responsibility, it’s an easy job. But I work in a good supportive school with very few behavioural issues so I understand that my experience won’t be as positive as many.

The UK is just coming out of a decade and a half of school budgets being cut to the bone by a government who do not value state education, and were desperate to turn them into academies run by trusts which cream off taxpayer funding.

TAs deserve to be paid much more than they are, but schools don’t have the funding. Not many people would tolerate being hit, spat on, kicked and sworn at all day for NMW.

It's the same. There are some TAs in the england who have an old permanent contract but most new ones are fixed term and reviewed each year.(don't know wales or Scotland or NI)

The main issue with English contracts is they are pro rata. So roughly 6 weeks unpaid holiday and rarely more than 32.5 hours a week. But actually quite hard to do a second job around.

It’s great you’re happy with it.

I’m so grateful for the NHS.

£27k for 25 hours = £43200 for 40 hours ,so one of those figures can't be right.

It's very hard to get a job as an SNA in Ireland. Huge competition for the jobs. No permanent posts as such...can be cut each summer. Expected to continue upskilling.

We have basic health insurance but we still have to pay some cost such as €65 to see a GP.

Largely due to it implementing a sensible tax regime and not shooting itself in the face by Brexiting...

Salaries are higher in Ireland in general

Yes but it isn't comparable to the NHS.

I suspect they're rather relieved about that as it means they have a decent chance of quality treatment within reasonable timeframes. Hence far superior health outcomes across the population.

I work for a school and we’ve been recruiting for TAs. We have funding for more which is unusual and quite nice. We get lots of applications from Mums of children in the school who don’t want full time hours. They WANT term time and part time. They don’t have many qualifications themselves and being a TA ticks a lot of boxes for them. Then they don’t have to pay or worry about holiday clubs etc.

It’s good that Ireland has a Level 3 requirement though!!

We get about 100 applicants per role ☺️ it’s a tough job but some people are quite happy with it

Ireland has better standard (IME) but higher cost of living. Also £ and € being compared as equivalent is very misleading. Not really sure what point is being made her, TBH.

€27k is pittance here unfortunately

I'm an Irish physio working in the UK. All public sector wages are higher in Ireland as the cost of living is a lot higher. Health care costs, housing, banking charges ect all cost more in Ireland. You say a TA earns more but so does a teacher, even after the croke park agreement.

No, access would be GCSE equivalent.

Rent is very high around Dublin and suburbs but the quality of life is definitely better. Wages are higher, social welfare is higher too - housing is the main issue as that is expensive. Ireland does have a lot of poverty and definitely needs to sort out the inequity between rich and poor but it is not on the same scale as the UK which in recent reports show 30% of children experiencing poverty and has a crazy number of billionaires.

GP’s in Ireland are only free if you’re on a lowish wage, under 5 or have long term health conditions. Prescriptions are only free if you’re on a very low wage. Hospital referrals, surgery etc… is free through the public health services but like the UK waiting lists are long, health service is underfunded - a&e is free if you are referred by a doctor otherwise there is a cost.

The wages in the UK for TA’s are shocking - people who work with children and the vulnerable should be better appreciated and better paid. No job should be £12k - that is ridiculous - people should be properly paid for the work they do.

The wages in Ireland should be higher too! When people cite 25hours/32 hours as work time they are forgetting the prep time, the time spent after school staying with kids who need help.

My mum was a teacher and we would be lucky to have her home at 6pm and then she had corrections, lesson plans and helped struggling kids after school and on her lunch breaks. They also had to take turns supervising lunchrooms and hallways on their lunch breaks, didn’t get paid for teaching extracurriculars. It’s not paid enough for what they do and from what I hear people are kept on temporary contracts for years, not having any job security.

Incidentally the official work day in offices tends to be longer in the UK too - in Ireland when a job is 9am-5pm it is typically listed as a 40hour week (most workplaces include the paid lunch break) - in the UK that would be listed as 35hours. My first job in the UK I accepted a lower salary than I should have on the basis that I thought it finished at 4.30pm so could beat the rush home (it was listed as 37.5 hours a week).

The public system is exceptionally cheap and limited to a certain top cost. And medical cards which grant no fees are available for families earning fairly reasonable money.

I keep reading about how expensive Ireland is which baffles me as yes there is a cost but there are numerous supports available should the household income not be able to afford it.

Its not greatly paid here sna. I get 13euro for bus escort. I agree with pp not great stability in the jobs. Not many jobs going either. Good money in subbing if your covering somebody.

yes- but they pay for it. So whilst salaries are more so is the cost of living.

If you don't qualify for a GP or medical card you pay for GP visits (€65 for mine, €25 for a repeat prescription ordered online) and all dental treatments except an annual check up and scale and polish through your PRSI. Free Eye exam every 2 years and either free cheap glasses or the value taken off whatever you choose.

Public hospitals are free if you're happy to wait for a consultation and then treatment, access is within weeks through health insurance.

There is only a charge in A & E of you attend without a GP referral, a lot of the public hospital charges were abolished.

www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/acute-hospitals-division/patient-care/hospital-charges/

They sign on to jb during the summer and only get 243 pw while schools are closed

But if you are going to A and E it should be an emergency. Not something you go to see a GP about first.