Vol. 524 No. 2
448 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the arrangement he has put in place to replace secretaries who have pensionable positions in schools when they retire; the number of schools where persons have come up for retirement in the past two years; and the arrangements in each case that have been made for their replacement. [22388/00]
My Department provides funding towards the cost of secretarial services in primary and secondary schools under two separate schemes. One scheme is the 1978 scheme for the employment of school secretaries in the larger schools, under which my Department meets the full cost of salary. A pension provision, introduced in 1985, applies to secretaries under this scheme. This scheme is, however, being phased out, as posts become vacant.
The 1978 scheme has been superseded under the PESP Agreement of 1992 by a more extensive scheme that provides grants to primary and secondary schools towards the cost of secretarial services. The scheme by its nature is flexible and gives schools discretion as to the manner in which secretarial services are provided. Secretaries employed by schools are employees of the individual schools and my Department does not have any role regarding how they are employed. These individualised arrangements preclude a central superannuation scheme.
Three secretaries in primary schools and two secretaries in secondary schools, who were employed under the 1978 scheme, have retired from their positions in the past two years. The schools concerned now qualify for assistance under the PESP scheme.
The funding arrangements for the VEC and C&C school sectors include provision for secretarial services to schools. In the case of vocational education committees, administrative and clerical staff are allocated on a scheme wide basis. It is a matter for the VEC to deploy staff in the best manner possible to meet the needs of the committee and its schools. Retiring staff are replaced on the basis of the agreed staffing complements. In the case of the C&C sector three secretaries have retired in the past two years and in accordance with staffing arrangements for the sector were replaced.
