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

I am delighted to be able to speak in support of school secretaries. As public representatives, all of us have encountered school secretaries over the years. I will explain how I would describe it. If a school was a motor car, the school secretary would be the engine.

The engine is the most important part of any machinery. The service and commitment school secretaries give are second to none. They are everything to everybody, whether the students, teachers, principals or parents, and an important conduit in the system that is a school. They go beyond the call of duty. A school secretary out for a walk in the evening could meet a parent who asks how Johnny or Mary is getting on in school. We can be sure the secretary will not rush, but will say things are going good or if there is a matter of concern or worry, he or she will tell the parents. They play a vital role. Our job is to fight for fairness, equal treatment and pay and ensure school secretaries are given proper recognition in their role in terms of having access to all of the benefits of other full-time employment. They do an important job in our communities and they should have the benefits that go with that.

I wish to put the name of a person who served as a school secretary on the record. Mary O'Neill, who is from Kenmare and lives on the Bog Road in Kilgarvan, has been a close personal friend of mine for many years. I mention her as an example of someone who is a highly respectable lady and gave years of service in Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine. She exemplifies everything that is good about being a good person in an office in a school. As I call it, she ran the show. It is important to recognise individuals. Mary O'Neill is an example of what is good about being a school secretary, not just in our county but in this country. Every one of my colleagues here knows people like her. It is nice to acknowledge people who are good at their job and give a large part of their lives to their roles.

We are all putting our shoulder to the wheel in supporting secretaries and asking the Minister to try to give these people fair pay, fair play and rights. That is all they want and that is important.

See this speech in context