asked the Minister for Education whether he is aware that the County Roscommon Vocational Education Committee has refused to pay any of its officers the emergency bonus sanctioned by the Government and payable to whole-time officers of vocational education committees by his authority as from January 1st, 1943; whether the County Roscommon Committee is the only one that has not acted on his authority in this matter; and whether he will take steps to secure for the Roscommon vocational education officers the same treatment in regard to bonus as has been allowed by all other vocational education committees to their officers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Vocational Education Officers.
I am aware that the position with regard to the payment of emergency bonus to officers of vocational education committees is as stated in the first and second parts of the question. I do not propose, however, to interfere with the discretion of the County Roscommon Committee in this matter.
asked the Minister for Education whether the circular letter conveying his authority to vocational education committees to pay the emergency bonus to their whole-time officers made a distinction between teachers and other officers by which a teacher could receive the specified bonus by order of the vocational education committee under which he is employed, while the payment of the bonus to other whole-time officers, including clerks, was left to depend on the action of the county council, which is not their employer; whether, in consequence, Mr. M. Barrett, clerk to the County Kerry Vocational Education Committee, has received no emergency bonus, although the committee passed it; and whether, in view of the unfair position in which clerks and other employees of vocational education committees are placed by having the payment of their bonus determined by bodies other than their employers, he will amend the terms of his circular to vocational education committees so as to enable them to pay the bonus to their clerks in the same way as to their teachers.
Vocational education committees were authorised by Circular Letter No. 5/43 of the 10th March last to pay emergency bonus to whole-time teachers in their employment at rates specified in the circular letter, and to whole-time officers, who are not teachers, at rates not exceeding those paid to whole-time officers of corresponding categories employed by the parent local authority. I am informed that the Kerry County Council limited the payment of emergency bonus to those whose wages did not exceed £3 per week and that in consequence no emergency bonus was payable to the clerk employed by the County Kerry Vocational Education Committee. It is necessary, in my opinion, to avoid undesirable contrasts in the payment of emergency bonus to officers of similar categories employed in any particular administrative area, and I do not propose to amend the circular letter in the manner suggested.