Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State for being here at this ungodly hour. I have recently been in contact with a number of dedicated school secretaries across my constituency of east Cork who are campaigning for their rightful access to public service pensions.

Public service pensions are not just a benefit but a vital safeguard for workers' futures and provide security and dignity in later years. Public service status would see secretaries given access to the protections and pensions that come with this status and would end a 45-year injustice. It would see secretaries who work side by side with teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, having the same rights and pension certainty on retirement, and proper wages. This campaign has been ongoing for decades now. Secretaries deserve better. They are not asking for the earth. All they want is pay equality and the improved working conditions and pensions they are entitled to. Secretaries provide an essential service to their schools, which would simply be unable to function without a secretary. They ensure our schools run smoothly day to day, which is crucial. They are the backbone of our schools. These are hardworking individuals, many of whom have served our schools and communities for decades, and they deserve the recognition and fair treatment of public servants.

Despite recent progress in securing employment on the Department of Education’s payroll, school secretaries still face significant inequalities and continue to be treated as second-class public servants. As it stands, a secretary could work 40 years in the same school, retire on the same day as a teacher or SNA and walk out the door with only a bunch of flowers while the teacher or SNA will leave with a work pension. How can we, in good conscience, justify a system where two people working in the same school and contributing equally to daily life at that school retire under vastly different circumstances? This is not just an administrative oversight but a moral failure. We are sending a message that the work of school secretaries is somehow less valuable and that their commitment, often over decades, does not warrant the same respect and security in retirement as that of others in the public sector.

In October 2020, the then Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, gave a commitment in the Dáil that the Government would address the long-standing pay and employment issues secretaries were facing and finally secure pay equality and pension entitlement for school caretakers and secretaries. We have not had sight nor sound of this since.

To the school secretaries and all those involved in this campaign we in Sinn Féin say your efforts are seen, your voices are heard and your rights are supported. We stand with you in calling for a swift and just resolution to this pension row and will support you all the way. I am calling on this Government to act urgently. These workers have shown remarkable dedication to their job. They have gone above and beyond for schools and deserve fair treatment and the peace of mind that comes with access to proper pension schemes. It is only fair they receive the same recognition and entitlements as their colleagues such as teachers and SNAs. I have been absolutely battered and lobbied about this. I spoke to a lot of secretaries and they feel very underwhelmed. The secretary is the backbone of any committee, cumann or school. There is a massive injustice here. I am anxious to hear the Minister of State’s response.

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