Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister for her reply and I wish the Department of Education and Science well with the discussions. However, since the money paid to these school secretaries and caretakers comes from the Department of Education and Science, will the Minister stand over a situation where employees working in the education system are being paid under the minimum wage and denied normal rights afforded to other workers in the sector? Does the Minister not believe that the Department of Education and Science should pay these people directly, given the chronic under-funding of the primary education system? It is difficult to expect school boards of management to fund pensions for such employees.