Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 527: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will give consideration to paying school secretaries for bank holidays and in-service days, as well as offering them contracts and holiday pay, in line with teachers and special needs assistants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20704/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding towards the cost of secretarial services in primary and secondary schools under two separate schemes. One is the 1978-79 scheme under which my Department meets the full cost of salary. These secretaries are paid directly through my Department's payroll. The 1978-79 scheme is being phased out as posts become vacant and no new posts are being created.

The 1978-79 scheme has been superseded by a more extensive school support grant scheme towards the funding of ancillary services in schools including secretarial services. The scheme is flexible in nature giving boards of management and schools discretion as to the manner in which secretarial services are provided.

The ancillary services grant programme provides grants to schools that are not directly linked to any pay scales. Therefore the level and extent of services provided is a matter for the school authorities who, through the discretion afforded by the scheme, apply diverse arrangements for secretarial services as resources permit. As the secretaries are employees of individual schools, my Department does not have any role in determining the pay and conditions under which they are engaged. These are matters to be agreed between the staff concerned and the school authorities.