Michael Ring
Question:143 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science his plans for recruitment of caretakers and secretaries for all schools. [27503/99]
Written Answers. - Secretarial and Caretaking Services.
My Department provides funding towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services in primary schools under two separate schemes. One scheme is the 1978-79 scheme for the employment of school secretaries and caretakers under which my Department meets the full cost of salary and employer's PRSI. This scheme is, however, being phased out as posts become vacant.
Arising from the Programme for Economic and Social Progress – PESP – a second scheme was introduced in 1992 whereby my Department provides additional capitation grants for primary schools towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services. Under the PESP scheme, schools receive grants of £30 per pupil, based on their enrolments, which are paid as additions to the standardper capita grant.
Since its introduction in 1992, the scheme has been expanded in line with undertakings given in the PESP. The scheme has been extended to include more schools by reducing the qualifying enrolment threshold to its current figure of 195 pupils, with an ultimate target of providing additional capitation grants to all primary schools with 100 pupils or more.
In recognition of the need to improve the funding of secretaries and caretakers I have recently announced that an additional £2.7 million has been made available to extend support to another 650 schools with a total enrolment of 90,000 children in the coming year. The Deputy will also be aware that I have secured an additional £9 million in the recent budget which will enable me to extend and improve the supports available to all primary schools. Details of the implementation of this will be worked out in the near future following consultations and will, when taken together with the earlier move, make a major contribution to assisting schools.
The position in relation to second-level is as follows: the allocation of caretaking and secretarial posts in the vocational education sector is made on a scheme wide basis and it is a matter for each committee to deploy the staff as it sees fit. Most schools in this sector have the services of a full-time caretaker and a secretary; community and comprehensive schools have a full-time secretary and caretaker and schools with an enrolment in excess of 500 pupils have two full-time secretaries; secondary schools with enrolments of 200 or more pupils and not covered by the 1978 scheme, for school secretaries, are in receipt of additionalper capita grants towards the provision of caretaking and secretarial services, subject to maximum of £8,750 for caretaking and £10,500 in the case of secretarial services.
The question of increasing the level of grant payable to schools, which I increased by £5 per student in 1997 in respect of the secondary school secretarial grant, will be examined in the budgetary context and in light of available resources. I wish to assure the Deputy that I remain committed to improvements in the provision of additional assistance to schools for caretaking and clerical services.