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

The Minister said that he understands the issues but I do not believe he does. The secretaries want parity. They want pay and conditions that are equal to those of Department-paid secretaries, nothing more and nothing less. They want a change in the employment relationship so they will have a proper pay scale, year-round employment, holiday pay, sick pay and pensions like everybody else who works in the school. That is a very fair request. Does the Minister accept the principle that there is an issue with people doing the same job in the same place being on vastly differing pay and conditions? Will he commit to working with the representatives to address this properly? School secretaries play a vital role in passing information from schools to the Department of Education and Skills. This forms part of their argument that they should receive equal treatment and the work to rule that will commence on 10 January next, unless the situation is resolved, will have an impact on this. Can the Minister give details about the nature of this impact and the work they do in this regard?

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