asked the Minister for Education if he will arrange that national school teachers who are members of county councils and subsidiary bodies shall be paid their salaries for days absent from school attending meetings of such bodies.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Salaries of National teachers.
I think it desirable first to quote for the Deputy's information from the Rules and Regulations for National Schools the official position concerning this matter.
Rule 92 (2) states:—
"Whilst teachers are permitted to be members of county councils or other statutory local bodies, it is to be understood that they shall not absent themselves from their schools during school hours or interrupt their school duties for the purpose of attending meetings or transacting other business arising out of their membership of such bodies, except as provided in section 3 of this rule."
Section 3 of rule 92 states:—
"Teachers who are members of school attendance committees under the School Attendance Act, 1926, or of scholarship committees, vocational education committees, library committees or school medical service committees established under county, borough or urban councils may be absent from school during a school day, in whole or in part, with the permission of the manager, in attendance at a meeting of such committee.
"Arrangements, however, should be made to ensure that, as a rule, a school will not be closed to enable a teacher to attend such meetings."
Section 4 of Rule 92 states:—
"Payment of salary may be allowed to a teacher for absence from school under the conditions specified in rule 92 (3) provided that he has not been absent from school on more than six occasions for such cause during a calendar year and that the Minister is satisfied that his absences were reasonable and necessary. This limitation does not apply in respect of attendance at meetings of school attendance committees under the School Attendance Act, 1926."
These are quotations from the regulations.
It will be seen from this that the rules as they stand allow in general reasonable facilities to teachers who are members of committees whose work has a direct educational connection, and I am satisfied that it would not be in the interests of the pupils of the schools that there should be any departure in principle from the present position.