Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

278. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the implementation of the new pay deal for school secretaries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5188/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In February 2022, following a series of engagements at the WRC, a suite of measures designed to improve the working conditions of school secretaries was proposed, and which Fórsa agreed to recommend to its members. A ballot of the relevant members was undertaken, and the result was 95% agreement in favour of the deal. 

Since then, in conjunction with Fórsa, work to implement this agreement has been ongoing in my Department.  This work requires a complex process of assimilating information to capture accurate data in respect of each individual secretary.  

The Department issued circular 36/2022 to schools which outlined how the agreement will be implemented.  This included the requirement that, as part of the first phase of implementation of the agreement, schools had to, by the end of September 2022, calculate the initial assimilation rate of pay and annual leave entitlement and offer it to each individual secretary working in their school.  Following this, a survey issued to all schools on the 7th  November, seeking further details of the offers made by schools to their secretaries, and also other information to facilitate the on boarding of those secretaries who accept the offer, to the Department’s payroll.  The survey closed in December, following a very high response rate. For the small number of schools who had not responded to the survey- my Department is continuing to follow up for their respective data.

Alongside this an IT system is being developed to collect the data and action the payroll obligations. It is anticipated that payroll services for those secretaries who have accepted the offer will be operational from the beginning of the 2023/2024 school year.