Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are approaching the end of the second school term and I want to again raise the plight of school secretaries. Many school secretaries and caretakers are paid out of their school's ancillary grant and only around 10% are paid directly by the Department of Education and Skills. The two-tier system means that some secretaries are paid way more than others with some being paid as little as €12,000 a year. This is deeply unfair and unjust which is why Sinn Féin fully supports the campaign being led by the Fórsa trade union. Some of these secretaries will also have to sign on the dole during the summer months such is the lack of stability around their wages. The campaign seeks to ensure that all school secretaries are employed directly by the Department and enjoy full pension entitlements as public sector workers and equity in pay achieved through the linking of school secretary pay to the appropriate public sector pay grade. It is atrocious that school secretaries are not treated in the same way as other staff within a school. One cannot have that but we have seen it happen with CE supervisors and assistant supervisors where, despite a Labour Court ruling that they get a pension, they are told they are not entitled to one. These are very simple things that must be put right. If we are really serious about equality and fairness, we have to right those things to ensure that everybody is on the same playing field and people are paid in a proper manner.

I draw attention to the report launched by Women's Aid this morning on the incidence and reporting of domestic violence. While much progress has been made in terms of the new legislation we passed and the greater awareness of the help and assistance available, the figures are really shocking. Last year, 19,089 contacts were made with Women's Aid. Out of these contacts, 16,994 cases of domestic violence were against women. In many cases, the violence was witnessed by a child in the family home setting. Some 27% of these reported cases of abuse involved an ex-husband or partner. There is no guarantee that ending the relationship means an end to abuse by the partner. The report highlights many of the shortcomings in family law. It starkly states that we have a system where there is a presumption of access for the father even where domestic violence is involved.

We need to resource front-line services in a proper way, to reform the courts, to make the system easier for women and children who are fleeing abuse and to take these figures seriously. Let us remember that only 20% of cases are ever reported so 80% of cases are never reported. The crime of domestic violence must be tackled in a serious way not just through the legislation we have passed. We need an all-island strategy on domestic violence and how to combat it.