Written answers

Tuesday, 29 November 2016

Department of Education and Skills

School Services Staff

Photo of Seán HaugheySeán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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168. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will facilitate the continued employment of a caretaker in a school (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37669/16]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides capitation funding to recognised primary schools. The amount of grant paid to an individual primary school for capitation and ancillary services is determined by the school's enrolment, subject to a minimum grant for both capitation and ancillary services in respect of schools with enrolments up to 60, and a maximum ancillary services grant in the case of schools with enrolments of 500 or more.

Where a school uses grant funding to employ a secretary or caretaker, such staff are employees of individual schools. My Department therefore does not have a 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. It is not therefore appropriate for my Department to determine whether or not the caretaker referred to by the Deputy should be facilitated with continued employment.

In relation to funding to schools for the pay of grant-funded school secretaries and caretakers, my Department accepted the findings of an arbitration process.

The detailed arrangements are set out in Circular 0076/2015 that was published in December 2015 on the Department's website.

In March 2016 the ancillary services grant paid to primary schools was increased by €6 from €147 to €153 per pupil to enable them pay the first phase of the arbitrator's findings. The next phase of the pay increase is due to take effect from 1 January 2017. A circular will be issued by my Department later in 2016 with the revised rate of grant funding to facilitate the payment of the next phase of the arbitrator's finding.

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