Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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210. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of temporary contracts in place for the public sector as a whole including State agencies and other public bodies under the remit of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38827/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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For the Deputy's information, there are 90 temporary contracts in place in non commercial bodies under the remit of my Department.

In relation to teaching and non-teaching staff, schools receive an allocation of posts each year and the majority of positions are filled on a permanent basis. The criteria for the allocation of posts is published annually on the Department website. Where staff are on career breaks, carer's leave, job sharing, extended sick leave, maternity and extended maternity leave the posts are filled by staff on fixed term contracts, until the post holder returns to his / her position. In the post primary sector it may transpire that schools are forced to employ more than one teacher on fixed term contracts to cover the subject combination of a teacher on a particular leave of absence.

There are also arrangements in place whereby schools can apply for temporary full and part-time resource posts to cover their NCSE approved allocation if such schools are unable to access resource hours through a network full time permanent resource posts in place.

Where a fixed term contract is awarded to a teacher and the allocation continues to support the need for the teacher, after three years and subject to the terms of Department circulars, that person teacher will be offered a contract of indefinite duration in the school.

Special Needs Assistants are employed in schools to assist with the care needs of children. Due to the nature of the work the allocation for SNAs will increase or decrease depending on the numbers of children requiring assistance in any school year. SNAs are employed on the basis that they will continue to work in the school as long as the resource is required. If there is no requirement for an SNA and the post becomes redundant, the SNA may opt to take a redundancy payment or remain on a panel for up to two years while seeking a further post as an SNA.

At the end of the 2013/14 school year there were 935 primary teachers and 2,618 post primary teachers on fixed term contracts.

The Department does not have a direct role in the recruitment and employment of staff in the education and training board sector and, accordingly, information regarding the number of temporary contracts in place in the sector is not readily available. The recruitment and employment of staff is a matter for each of the sixteen education and training boards and to compile such information would involve an inordinate amount of administrative time. Accordingly the Department is not in a position to provide the information requested for the Education and Training Boards.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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211. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of contracts of indefinite duration that have been sought and the number that have been granted in the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 in the public sector under the remit of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38838/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The information requested by the Deputy is being compiled by my Department and will be forwarded directly to him.