Written answers

Wednesday, 20 May 2020

Department of Education and Skills

School Services Staff

Photo of Louise O'ReillyLouise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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278. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of permitting schools with enrolments of 725 or more to fill caretaker vacancies providing they have fewer than three caretakers. [6381/20]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides funding for Clerical Officer & Caretaker posts in the Community, Comprehensive and Education and Training Board Sectors.

A recruitment moratorium was introduced in the Public Service in 2009 which applied to these posts.

At that time alleviation measures were put in place which permitted schools to fill Clerical Officer & Caretaker vacancies so as to maintain staffing levels at a maximum of 1 Clerical Officer and 1 Caretaker per school.

I acknowledged the administrative burden on schools particularly for larger schools and introduced further alleviation measures in 2019 for those with enrolments of 700 and more to allow them employ an additional Clerical Officer up to a maximum of 2.

Funding has been provided as part of Budget 2020 which provides for the extension of the alleviation measures introduced in 2019 for Clerical Officers to Caretakers by enabling schools in the C&C and ETB Sectors with enrolments of 700 or more, to fill Caretaker vacancies provided they have less than 2 Caretakers. 

In addition to the above the estimated full year cost of permitting ETB, Community & Comprehensive schools with enrolments of 725 or more to fill caretaker vacancies providing they have fewer than three caretakers would be €3m.

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