Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister that engagement is crucial. We should have as much engagement as possible to ensure that we have a good Bill which when enacted will protect both the students and the teachers.

I acknowledge the inclusion of a fund in the Bill to protect the pupils of language schools who may find themselves out of pocket as a result of such a closure.

Unite has proposed that a similar teacher protection fund be introduced to protect teachers in the event that a school closes. This would address loss of wages and the loss of employment for teachers in a situation where a school closes, particularly in cases such as Grafton College which closed two weeks before Christmas. This fund would deal with a specific instance where a school has not followed procedure and as a result employees are not able to make an application to the insolvency fund. Has this issue of the provision of such a fund, which would protect teachers as well as protecting students, been examined?

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