Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to get this opportunity to speak about this important topic. As we know, the secretaries are out of sorts because they are not being paid properly. It is not fair because they do a tremendous job. I met the school secretary in Kilgarvan recently when I drove the school bus because my bus driver was off. I saw that her job involves ensuring that children are loaded onto and unloaded from the buses. When we took in the buses, she closed the school gate so that no child would go out past the gate. They are primarily responsible for the safety of the children. It is a fair responsibility to be entrusted with the safety of another person's child. They have to be Garda vetted, and they have to be correct in every way, because this onus of responsibility is upon them.

As other Deputies stated, school secretaries are the point of contact between parents and teachers. They are there for the enrolling of the children. They are there at every request. They are very important. They play a very important role. When we hear that some secretaries are paid directly by the State, it strikes us that it is time for all of them to be recognised. The teachers are taken up with teaching duties. There may have been a time when things were not as intense and principals had time to deal with things, but now we need a secretary in every school for the safety of children and all that goes with it. We have to be grateful for the tremendous job they do. Parents, bus drivers and teachers realise that they cannot carry on without secretaries. I support the school secretaries.

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