Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to update the House. Following discussion with Fórsa late this evening, I can say the following. The Department acknowledges that Fórsa lodged a claim in respect of school secretaries and caretakers following on from a 2015 arbitration finding which expires at the end of 2019. The Department regrets that the union is now engaging in industrial action. As is normal practice, the Department will agree to use the industrial relations machinery of the State to resolve this matter. Therefore, in order to address the various issues within the claim and to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution, the Department will participate in discussions with Fórsa under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. I take on board Deputy Smith's point as to from where the instructions will come. The Department will request, and I will personally request, the assistance of the WRC in ensuring that once talks commence the industrial action be stood down to enable these discussions to progress. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on potential outcomes of the WRC process at this stage. I hope a mutually acceptable solution can be found.

I acknowledge all the contributions made this evening. The previous speaker summed it up in terms of the goodwill right across the House to try to make something happen here. We are on the same page in identifying this as an anomaly. I raised this issue when my party was in opposition. I also raised it on this side of the House, most recently last October when I got the job as Minister for Education and Skills and said that I wanted to do something about it. There is a good energy around this now. There is the space to allow the Department to finish the work on the survey.

I thank my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and other people, through the Members' communication networks for keeping the communication lines open to ensure this is going to happen.

On a personal level, I mention Kathleen O'Doherty from Donegal who, on behalf of all the secretaries and of the many secretaries who have campaigned on this issue for many years, worked to help to bring it to this stage. I thank the Deputies again for their contributions this evening. Undoubtedly, those contributions will help and be of value in creating awareness of the issue as these discussions take place. I wish the process well. I thank my officials who have been engaging on this issue with Fórsa. I also thank the Fórsa union for coming to this agreement this evening.

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