Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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366. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when school secretaries and caretakers will be included in the public service pension scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9137/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Education has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023. The provision of this payroll service is part of a package agreed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in 2022. The secretaries had previously been paid directly by their schools, as employer, using grant funding form the Department.

The Department is committed to ensuring that school caretakers will be afforded the opportunity to avail a similar package offered to school secretaries of revised salary and annual leave entitlements in the near future.

The agreement provided for secretaries, who signed up for the package, to be moved to a pay scale aligned with that of Grade III/CO and for some enhanced terms and conditions including improved leave entitlements and maternity provisions. This was implemented under Circular 36/2022.

The agreement however did not grant school secretaries with public servant status and therefore this cohort does not have access to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme.

The school remains the employer of school secretaries and it is their obligation to provide access to a PRSA scheme for employees. For secretaries who are paid through the Department-administered payroll, a facility is now being offered to join a PRSA scheme administered by Cornmarket with contributions being deducted at source. Should secretaries wish to avail of this option, they can contact Cornmarket directly – the participation of individuals in any scheme is a matter between the individual and the service provider.

Any changes to the terms and conditions agreed for these secretaries under Circular 36/2022 can occur only under industrial relations processes and any such proposals would need to be considered in detail by this Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.