Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)

School secretaries and caretakers play a vital role. They are the glue that holds our schools together. Despite this, they are denied pension parity and, in the case of caretakers, pay justice. Teresa Cassidy is one such example. Teresa has been the school secretary in Gaelscoil na Rithe in Dunshaughlin, County Meath for 27 years. When she spoke to the Meath Chronicle in recent weeks she said school secretaries just want to be recognised and treated the same as their SNA and teacher colleagues. The management and staff at Gaelscoil na Rithe fully support Teresa. It is a matter of fairness. It is the same in schools all across the State. Yesterday Fórsa commenced a ballot of school secretaries and caretakers. Will the Government act? Will it deliver pay justice and pension parity and avert the risk of strike action?

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