Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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534. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will justify the fact that school secretaries in secondary schools are not employed directly by her Department but paid for from capitation grants and therefore do not get paid during summer holidays; and her plans to change this situation. [26063/15]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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535. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will justify the reason some school secretaries are employed and paid for by her Department, receive sick leave benefits, incremental salary and a pension, while others are employed from an ancillary grant, meaning that they do not have the same job security, are paid lesser rates and receive no pension, sick pay or public service status; and her plans to rectify this. [26064/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 534 and 535 together.

Schemes were initiated in 1978 and 1979 for the employment of Clerical Officers and Caretakers in primary and secondary schools. While a small number of these staff remain in schools, the schemes are being phased out and have been superseded by a more extensive grant scheme. The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools in the Free Education Scheme now receive capitation grant assistance to provide for secretarial (and/or caretaking) services. Within the capitation grant schemes, it is a matter for each individual school to decide how best to apply the grant funding to suit its particular needs and the Department does not stipulate how secretarial services are to be obtained. Where a school uses the grant funding to employ a secretary, such staff are employees of individual schools. My Department therefore 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.

Notwithstanding the above, a forum was established under the Towards 2016 Agreement involving my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, IMPACT and SIPTU to examine the factual position in schools regarding the terms and conditions of employment of secretaries (and caretakers) employed using grant funding. However, it was not possible to progress the forum's agenda beyond the initial fact finding survey, due to the State's budgetary and financial position. The forum's recent priority has been to consider appropriate measures in relation to the rates of pay of school secretaries and caretakers in the event that a review of the Public Service Agreements recommended changes to the benefit of those public servants earning €35,000 or less per annum.

It was recently agreed that my Department would engage with the union side in relation to issues around school secretaries (and caretakers). If agreement cannot be reached, the parties have agreed to enter an arbitration process on their pay, to be conducted by the Labour Relations Commission.