Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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104. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position in relation to the availability of substitute teaching; her plans to allow retired teachers return in a substitution capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57039/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012).

Retired teachers can be employed. In accordance with Department Circulars 0044/2019 and 31/2011, schools are required to employ appropriately qualified and registered teachers and ensure that unemployed teachers should be offered employment in preference to those who have retired. My Department has obtained approval for a waiver on pension abatement for up to 50 days per calendar year to make substitution work more attractive for retired teachers as an exceptional measure given current challenges.

During September and October in the current school year, over 750 retired teachers returned to teaching to provide substitute cover in both primary and post-primary schools (excluding ETB post primary schools).

A range of measures are in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of current challenges.

These include a major expansion of the primary substitute teacher supply panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country. A review of the supply panels has taken place and approximately 100 additional teachers are being added to existing/new areas where significant challenges have been demonstrated in sourcing substitution. Posts have been allocated to the base schools to allow arrangements for the recruitment of these additional staff.

The supply panels work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers, such as the national substitution portal service Sub Seeker, operated by the Irish Primary Principals' Network and developed in accordance with my Department's Teacher Supply Action Plan. Schools can also make local arrangements to have their own regular substitutes to call on if needed.

In addition to the expansion of the supply panels, schools with teaching principals have also been asked to cluster their allocation of principal release days to form a full-time fixed-term post to minimise the requirement for substitute teachers.

For the current school year, changes have been made to the career break scheme to permit teachers on career break to carry out unlimited substitute work. Changes have also been made to the job sharing scheme to permit job sharing teachers carry out substitute work on the days they are rostered off, in their own or in other schools.

The Teaching Council has undertaken a communications campaign to contact the over 111,000 teachers on its register to raise awareness to the current teacher substitute challenges and to ask available teachers to register withSub Seeker,so that their availability is known to schools seeking subs.

The Council and my Department have also engaged with higher education institutions, who have been requested to bring flexibility to programme delivery to enhance the availability of PME student teachers to undertake substitute work. PME students have also been advised to register with the Teaching Council and to register with Sub Seeker

My Department is continuing its engagement with education stakeholders to identify solutions to the current challenges in recruiting substitute teachers.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the detail of the agreement reached with representatives of school secretaries; the way and when these new arrangements will be implemented; if they will be retrospective; if they will apply to all school secretaries; if there are further agreements to be reached in relation to issues such as pension entitlements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57040/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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School secretaries are valued members of our school communities and my Department is fully aware of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools.

The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools receive assistance to provide for secretarial, caretaking and cleaning services under grant schemes. Where a school employs a staff member to support those functions those staff are employees of individual schools and responsibility for terms of employment rests with the school.

The Department previously fully implemented and funded the 2015 recommendations of an independent arbitrator for a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 be phased in over that period. Fórsa trade union has tabled a follow-on claim and officials from the Department and school management bodies have been engaging with Fórsa on the issues. On the 27th of October 2020, under the auspices of the WRC, an understanding was agreed on a pathway to progress the issues. Several key strands have been identified, and a phased approach is being taken to the development of proposals.

Following intensive discussions at the WRC on 13th September, there has been significant progress in this dispute. Subject to agreement on all elements of the claim, the Department has offered to move School Secretaries’ pay rates to a scale which is aligned with the Clerical Officer Grade III pay scale within education and training boards on a pro rata basis with an effective date of implementation for these new pay arrangements of 1st September 2021. Pay rates will be pro rata according to a secretary’s current working pattern. The assimilation of School Secretaries to the CO Grade III pay scale will require further dialogue between the parties and further engagement is taking place at present to allow this to be finalised. My Department has also offered to improve the conditions for School Secretaries with regard to sick leave, annual leave and maternity provisions for this cohort of staff and engagement has begun on this element.

Discussions on these elements continue at present and should agreement on an overall package be reached then Forsa would have to ballot their members and an implementation process would then begin if the ballot was passed. Therefore actual implementation and payment of any agreed pay improvements is still some time away. However, as set out above, the pay element of the offer includes an effective implementation date of 1 September 2021 should agreement be reached.

I welcomed the deferral of the action scheduled for Wednesday 15th September and I encourage all parties to focus on finalising an agreement.