Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider extending membership of the supplementary assignment panel for special needs assistants, SNAs, to those who were made redundant prior to 1 May 2013 and SNAs involved in service in 2012-2013 in a suitable capacity as the panel militates unfairly against such SNAs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33403/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware, a new set of proposals for a public service agreement were put forward by the Labour Relations Commission which now form the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2016 (the Haddington Road Agreement). One aspect of this Agreement relates to supplementary assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and as both Unions that represent SNAs namely, SIPTU and IMPACT, have signed up to the Haddington Road Agreement, the Department has now implemented supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs for the 2013/2014 school year. The detailed arrangements are set out in Departmental Circular 0037/2013 which issued on 1 July 2013 (copy attached).

The first part of the LRC proposals for supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs outlines that the supplementary assignment arrangements only apply to current SNAs who are notified that they are to be made redundant. Accordingly, with effect from 1 May 2013 once an SNA with a minimum of one year's service is notified by his/her employer that he/she is to be made redundant then he/she shall be deemed to be a member of a Supplementary Assignment Panel for SNAs. I can inform the Deputy that the 1st of May date was set in Circular 0037/2013 in order to ensure that the overwhelming majority of SNAs who worked in schools during the past year would be eligible for the supplementary assignment arrangements, as agreed to in the LRC proposals. As the LRC proposals are part of a wider public-sector pay agreement that represent compromises by both employers and unions, I do not have the ability to alter the terms of that agreement.

Copies of the attachments are available as Q229circular.pdf and Haddington Road agreement.pdf at the top of the web page.