Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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546. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to change the grant-aid that schools use to employ caretaker staff, that would result in those staff being employed directly by her Department rather than by the board of the school; and if she will provide the detail of any such changes proposed. [33257/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The majority of primary schools and voluntary secondary schools receive grant assistance to provide for caretaking (and/or secretarial) services. Within the grant schemes, the level and extent of services provided is a matter for school management who, through the discretion afforded under the scheme, apply diverse arrangements for caretaking (and/or secretarial) services as resources permit.

Where a school uses the grant funding to employ a Caretaker (and/or Secretary), such staff are employees of the individual school. The 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 management, subject of course to any relevant statutory provisions.

Notwithstanding the above, a forum was established under the Towards 2016 agreement involving the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, IMPACT and SIPTU. The forum was established on the understanding that the unions accepted that there would be no change in the existing employment relationship and that consideration of any proposals must have regard to current and future budgetary provision and related financial constraints.

The first aspect of the forum's tasks (establishing the factual position in schools regarding terms and conditions, including pay, of School Secretaries and Caretakers) was completed. However, discussions on the second element (the proposal of the unions to introduce an interim minimum pay rate) did not begin due to the State's serious budgetary and financial position, as any agreement would inevitably result in increased costs to the Exchequer.

It was recently agreed that my Department would engage with the union side in relation to issues around the pay of Caretakers and Secretaries. The parties have now entered an arbitration process conducted by the Labour Relations Commission. The Deputy will appreciate that as the arbitration process is ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comment at this time.