Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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People are getting more than 15 minutes to do basic sums so bear with me. I welcome all the witnesses today. At the outset I must say there is a good bit to get through for everyone, especially if time is short, so at times the debate may become robust and I may cut off some speakers. It is not personal, it is just the nature of the beast. I hope this is okay.

I will start with the Department of Education and Skills. At any given time there may be a series of court cases ongoing on with ETB teachers or teachers generally around dismissals and grievances and so on. This is a potential cost to the State if it loses and in terms of legal fees etc. In this context, there are Department circulars, such as Circular 59/09 which deals with complaints around teacher competence and Circular 99/08 which relates to sick leave. I will not go into the detail of these but will the Department confirm that they exist and that they govern these areas?