Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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263. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when school caretakers will be afforded a new agreement for revised salary and annual leave entitlements similar to the agreement recently put in place for school secretaries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53812/23]

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

As you have mentioned in 2022 a suite of measures designed to improve the working conditions of school secretaries was agreed and since then comprehensive work to move school secretaries who have accepted this deal has been undertaken by the Department to move secretaries over to the Department's payroll give effect to the terms of the agreement.

The Department is committed to ensuring that school caretakers will be afforded the opportunity to also avail of a similar agreement in the near future. At present there remains a deficit of data on the working patterns, as well as the current terms and conditions of work for caretakers, and a separate, similar process to reach appropriate agreement and to give effect to this will be required.