Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I find the response to this committee on the matter wholly unsatisfactory. We had asked about top-up payments to principals and senior management in fee-paying schools. In a letter dated 8 May, the Secretary General said that he wrote to the committee in respect of compliance on public sector pay policy. He went on to say that in this context the Department did not seek further information about payments in individual schools other than those made by the Department to 60,000 of its staff. He added that the Department was aware that fee-paying schools have access to additional funding which may be used to pay additional remuneration to staff, including principals and senior management, in return for additional work. This is like the section 38 and section 39 organisations in that basic pay is being paid by the public purse, the taxpayer, directly to the school principals while some organisations, like those we have been dealing with in the health area as a result of the internal audit, have access to private funds which they have been using for top-up payments.

Here we are inquiring about that issue in this context. It is a direct parallel. The Secretary General says the Department is aware that fee-paying schools have access to additional funding and says no more about it. The purpose of our enquiry was to see if they are getting top-up salaries. Are top-up salaries being paid in the education sector where the institutions have access to private funds in addition to State funds paying basic salaries? We need an answer to that question. The Secretary General does not answer it or even suggest that he will answer it. That is wholly unsatisfactory. We should write back to him seeking the information.