Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 1139: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his position regrading circular 0040/2009 in view of the ongoing campaign by school secretaries to receive salary and service recognition; his views on the fact that the same circular will have a detrimental effect on this campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29338/09]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1145: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason he has authorised boards of management to divert moneys provided for paying school secretaries and caretakers and instead spend these moneys on day-to-day running of schools as per circular 0040/09; if his attention has been drawn to the poor remuneration school secretaries and caretakers find themselves in; if he expects these staff to pay the costs of mismanagement of the economy by offsetting the loss of income schools face since the 2009 Budgets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29363/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1139 and 1145 together.

Circular 40/2009 clarifies issues relating to the allocation of funding for primary schools. The circular states that capitation funding provided this year for general running costs and funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities. In due course, both grant schemes will be merged. In the interim, both grants will continue to be paid according to existing timelines and calculated separately as heretofore.

I have consistently said that it is my intention to streamline and rationalise the different grant schemes that provide funding to primary schools. This will ensure that school management has greater autonomy over how funding is allocated. For example, as outlined in the circular, schools that are not in receipt of DEIS funding may utilise capitation or caretaker/secretarial funding to support book rental schemes or to otherwise help provide books for individual pupils where this is considered by a Board of Management to be a priority for the school.

With regard to salaries for secretaries and caretakers, a forum has recently been set up with the aim of establishing the position in schools regarding the terms and conditions of employment of school secretaries and caretakers. The forum is jointly chaired by the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Finance and includes the relevant management bodies and the unions involved (SIPTU and IMPACT).

In order to establish the factual position of secretaries and caretakers, a survey, developed in conjunction with the school management bodies and the relevant unions, was carried out in all schools recently. The results of the survey will feed into the work of the forum.