Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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93. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current salary scale for primary school caretakers. [11084/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Salary scales for school caretakers employed in National Schools under the 1978/79 Scheme are set out in circular letter 0068/2015 which is available on my Department’s website at www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0068_2015.pdf.

These are the only salary scales for National school caretakers published by my Department. While a small number of these staff remain in schools, the scheme is being phased out and has been superseded by a more extensive capitation grant scheme.

The majority of primary schools in the Free Education Scheme now receive capitation grant assistance to provide for 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 my Department does not stipulate how caretaking services are to be obtained.

Where a school uses the grant funding to employ a caretaker, 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, in 2015 my Department agreed to engage with the union side in relation to the pay of School Secretaries and Caretakers who are employed using grant funding and to enter an arbitration process. The Arbitrator recommended a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 for School Secretaries and Caretakers comprehended by the terms of the arbitration process and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 for such staff be phased in over the period 2016 to 2019. My Department recently published circular letter 0080/2016, setting out the application of the second phase increases of the Arbitrator’s recommendations. The circular is available at: www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0080_2016.pdf.