Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and her officials. I have five questions and I will just rattle through them, so that she will have the remaining time to answer them. My first question is in respect of the arrears due to school secretaries. I understand that there is an agreement which affects over 3,000 school secretaries and I further understand it is to be backdated to September 2021. Could the Minister give the committee an update as to where that is at? Has the Minister any details on the secretaries who have been paid and on the number outstanding?

My second question relates to the school transport review. My understanding is that that review has now been completed and is awaiting publication. Can the Minister give the committee an update on that? I am conscious that at the turn of the new year, we will be into the next cycle and will be heading into April when the portal or window normally opens.

My third question is on the school books. This is probably one of the greatest initiatives the Minister has undertaken in the past number of years. I welcome the provision at second level. Specifically, on the digital side of things, on the provision of apps, software iPads, and so on, are there any plans to expand the book scheme to include online or digital books, e-books or whatever, as opposed to specifically investing in paper or conventional books?

My fourth question is one I asked at a previous select committee meeting and it is to do with the Department of public expenditure's intervention for public contracts, typically a school, in this scenario, and how it would engage with contractors to combat the inflationary rise in construction costs. I am aware that it is an opt-in type of system but I have come across one or two circumstances where schools have not opted in and it has been a negative experience for the contractor. One contractor I know stated that this would be the last time he would do a public contract because the school would not work with him on it.