Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, there is agreement in principle, which is probably the best way to describe it. The Department of Education is the primary Department on the employer side. Of course, the Department is not the direct employer of school secretaries so there is the issue that the secretaries are employed directly by schools. Many of them have to sign on during the summer and there is a wide variation in the level of pay, for example, the pay to those who are with education and training boards, ETBs, relative to those not with ETBs. The key issue I believe we have made progress on is a common pay scale that has public sector equivalence to certain clerical officer grades. That was their key request and it has been agreed in principle. There will always be points of detail that have to be ironed out and that is what they are working on now.