Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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242. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the special needs assistants in primary schools engage in job-sharing and the minimum and maximum hours each job-sharer can share in a special needs assistant post in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17698/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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There is no agreed Departmental circular or scheme which allows job-sharing for Special Needs Assistants. The Unions representing Special Needs Assistants (IMPACT and SIPTU) requested the introduction of a formal job-sharing scheme for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and following a number of meetings between the parties, including facilitation by the LRC, officials in my Department provided the Unions with a proposal for a job-sharing scheme for SNAs on 23 October 2013.

Subsequent to this, Departmental officials met with officials from IMPACT and SIPTU on 11 November 2013. The Unions indicated a difficulty with one aspect of this proposed scheme and this specific issue was referred to the Labour Court. The Labour Court issued a recommendation on 12 March 2014 that the parties should further explore matters in conciliation under the auspices of the LRC.

Given the fact that this matter is still the subject of an ongoing Industrial Relations process I will not be making any further comment.