Almost £3 million has been spent on temporary education staff over the past five years, according to new figures.
The spend by the Department of Education since 2019 was revealed in an assembly question from SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan.
The figures show that between 2019 and February this year, £2.8 million was spent on a total of 113 temporary and agency staff.
In 2023/24, the department spent £697,047 on 37 staff, while in 2022/23 a total of £702,149 was paid out to 25 temporary workers.
During 2021/22, 17 workers were used by the department at a cost of £567,357, while in the previous year the same number of temporary staff was used costing £547,955.
Around £314,941 was spent in 2019/20 for 17 workers.
Ms McCrossan said it is “clear from these figures that there is an increasing reliance on temporary and agency staff within the Department of Education, with a significant financial figure attached”.
“While I understand that there will be instances when these types of staff will be needed, their use should not become the norm and I am concerned by the increase in this practice in recent years,” he said.
“When the department needs to recruit staff they should make every effort to fill posts permanently.
“This would not only reduce the spending on temporary staff, but provide these staff with job security and the experience needed to perform the job to the best of their ability.”
Mr McCrossan has called on Education Minister Paul Givan to “instill a culture change within the department and move away from this over reliance on temporary and agency staff”.
“We need to ensure that we go about our recruitment in the way that provides the most value for money and the best environment for all of the staff involved,” he said.
A Department of Education spokesperson said: “Agency workers are engaged to undertake temporary pieces of work, or to provide urgent cover while awaiting recruitment of a permanent member of staff.
“The number of agency workers fluctuates throughout the year. The number reported is the amount working at the end of the financial year (2023/24 is the February 2024 figure).”
