Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

In certain circumstances. I think the first day of uncertified sick leave is not covered. We have also taken action where there were high levels of permissions for uncertified leave days. They were reduced to a maximum of seven per year. A number of different changes have made an impact on teacher absences. The substitution arrangements are permitted only for particular absences such as certified leave and maternity leave.

There is another aspect which makes the teaching profession different from other professions. If a civil servant is absent from his or her job, he or she does not have to supervise and manage a class. There is a need for someone to be physically present when a teacher is not available. The same does not apply to other areas of the public sector. I am not saying that the work of other areas of the public sector is not important. It is just that it is possible for a Civil Service unit, for example, to split its work up for a day, but with teaching, someone needs to be present for a class or else that class must be split up. To be fair, in schools where we do not provide substitution, classes are sometimes split up. It is one of the strategies such schools use. The Department does not want them to do that or at least only in very limited circumstances.