Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

There are plenty of those, which is very good. This is the type of thing we will have to instill in life, in society and in the community as opposed to having people being paid to be a volunteer.

There are other responsibilities which require administrative time, and I do not take from that. However, what we are trying to ensure is that at the least we meet a minimum requirement so the schools can manage the work they need to do.

On an issue not raised in the House, I very much appreciate the view of the TUI in that it has stepped back from its industrial action, which I hope will allow greater work processes to take place within the schools in situations where the principal and deputy principal were left to do everything.

I am cognisant of the issue. I gave an undertaking that I would reduce the administrative burden on the management of schools. It is time we used technology to do away with the practice of re-doing 40 times everything that has to be done in a school term. I have asked the schools to come up with practical proposals, which I will be more than happy to address.

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