Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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265. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if school secretaries and bus drivers are paid their wages during the summer holidays; if not, if they have to sign for jobseeker's benefit during school holidays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35806/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools in the Free Education Scheme now receive capitation grant assistance to provide for secretarial, caretaking and cleaning 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. Where a school uses the capitation grant funding to employ a secretary, such staff are employees of individual schools. Though schemes were initiated in 1978 and 1979 for the employment of Clerical Officers and Caretakers in primary and secondary schools, where staff employed on these schemes are paid directly by the Department and not via grant funding, these schemes have been largely phased out and have been superseded by the more extensive capitation grant scheme. My Department has no plans to develop an alternative scheme for schools to employ secretaries separate to the current system of capitation grant assistance.

In terms of the latest negotiations that have taken place with regard to school secretaries, in 2015 my Department engaged with the Union side on negotiations in relation to the pay of school secretaries (and caretakers) who are employed using grant funding, and agreed to enter an arbitration process on that issue. 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.  Grant funding used by schools to fund the salaries of ancillary staff is also being improved on a phased basis between 2016 and 2019 following the arbitration process.  These increases are in order to enable schools implement the arbitration outcome for grant funded secretaries (and caretakers).

In December 2017, my Department published circular letter 0078/2017 for primary schools and circular letter 0079/2017 for voluntary secondary schools, setting out the application of the third phase increases of the Arbitrator’s recommendations.  The circulars are available at:

Circular 0078/2017: .

Circular 0079/2017: .

The increases recommended by the Arbitrator are binding and must be applied by all schools who employ staff to whom the Arbitrator's recommendation applies. 

With regard to bus drivers, and as the Deputy is aware, Bus Éireann operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the Department, and issues regarding the terms and conditions and employment status of bus drivers under that scheme is a matter for Bus Éireann.