Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

It is the nature of the system. We actually provided to the committee over the years quite a lot of breakdowns of substitution. I remember there was a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General on the supervision and substitution scheme. The occasion of sick leave has been reduced significantly in teaching and we are referring people to the occupational health service, which deals with them much more speedily with a view to reducing sick leave time. It is not just sick leave; it is the nature of the system. Especially at second level, there are is a lot of part-time working involved because schools have to be subject-specific in their provision of teaching.