Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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356. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will outline, where a school secretaries new contract stipulates 52 weeks and not 41; the additional funding that is made available to the school to cover this additional cost; and the additional funding available to cover employer PRSI contributions. [29885/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department recently issued a survey to all schools with grant-funded secretaries who originally opted-out of the agreement detailed in Circular 0036/2022 - Revision of Salaries and Annual Leave Arrangements for School Secretaries employed in Recognised Primary and Post-Primary Schools and who are now being given a further chance to accept the agreement and to join my Department's payroll from September 2024 onwards.

In line with the original cohort who came on payroll in September 2023, the previously opted-out secretaries will be assimilated to payroll on the hours that they are currently working in the school, but are being given the opportunity to have salary payments spread out over the entire year. For example, where a grant-funded secretary now accepts the agreement and is currently being paid for 41 weeks of the year, they will be given the option to have the payment annualised and spread out over 52 weeks.

In this scenario, and should they opt to have their pay annualised, a secretary may also be entitled to an onboarding allowance.

The onboarding allowance is given to school secretaries working less than 48 weeks per year who transfer to the Department's payroll on an annualised basis, rather than continuing to sign on with the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for the summer months and other periods of school closure.

Where a secretary moves to the Department's payroll, the school's Ancillary Grant will be reduced by the amount it cost the school to employ the secretary. The salary and employers' PRSI costs are now borne by the Department. As such there should be no additional costs to the school.