Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Clearly I do not accept the Government is forcing anybody to break the law as no matter what funding is available, everybody has a responsibility, particularly with employment, to ensure the substantial legislation is adhered to. Secretaries and caretakers do a very good and important job but even the smallest of schools receive a minimum amount of money under the ancillary scheme. The larger schools get up to €75,750, the maximum amount available.

The length of a school day and school year is short. In primary schools, for example, this allows four hours work by a secretary, for example, as schools are only open five hours and 40 minutes. The school is open for 183 days. We have stated we will be happy to continue to put down formal structures for the 1978 and 1979 scheme——

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