Written answers
Wednesday, 22 January 2025
Department of Education and Skills
School Staff
Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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533. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to extend the period of time an SNA can apply for leave following an incident in school as provided for under Circular 0062/2017 which currently stands at one week and is not enough time if a staff member is out of work and needs assistance with the process. [46670/24]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Leave of Absence following Assault Scheme for SNAs is contained in the Department’s Circular Letter 0062/2017. It provides for special leave with pay (subject to specified limits) to a special needs assistant who is unable to perform their duties due to a physical injury following an assault that happened in the course of their duties and during approved school activities.
Paragraph 4 of 0062/2017 outlines the application procedures in place:
“4.1 In order for an absence to be recorded as Leave of Absence following Assault, the Application Form (attached at Appendix A) must be completed by the SNA concerned and the employer (or, in the case of ETB schools, the Principal) and forwarded by the employer to the Department/ETB within a week of the incident occurring. Where in exceptional cases an SNA is unable to complete their part of the application within a week of the incident due to physical incapacity, this period may be extended by the employer – applications must be forwarded to the Department/ETB within a reasonable period in this event”.
The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) determines the terms and conditions of Leave Schemes for Public Servants, which includes SNAs. In this regard, the guidelines outlined in the Assault Leave Circular for SNAs was agreed with Education Partners in conjunction with DPENDR.
The SNA Industrial Relations Forum provides a forum for claims and proposals relating to the salary and other terms and conditions of service for SNAs which is made up of Fórsa representatives, along with School Management Bodies representatives and the Department of Education. It is open to the Education Partners to raise any issues with the current agreed terms and conditions of the Schemes at any future negotiations.
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