Written Answers. - Secretarial and Caretaking Services.
Róisín Shortall
Question:
188
Ms Shortall
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
if he will outline, in regard to the primary sector for the year 2000 or the most recent year for which figures are available, the level of support and the criteria for payment of grants for school secretaries and caretakers, the number of schools benefiting, the total number of caretakers and secretaries employed under each such scheme and the total cost of each such scheme.
[22535/00]
At primary level, my Department provides funding towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services 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. While the majority of posts are based in one school only, a number of schools qualified for posts under this scheme on a shared basis.
The most recent statistics available in relation to this scheme refer to 1999 and are set out in the following table.
|
1978/79 Scheme
|
Number of Posts
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Cost
|
|
Secretaries
|
223
|
£3.812 million
|
|
Caretakers
|
225
|
£2.830 million
|
The 1978-79 scheme has, however, been superseded in the PESP agreement of 1992 by a more extensive grant scheme. The PESP scheme applies to all schools which do not have a service under the 1978-79 scheme outlined above, providing additionalper-capita grants to schools towards secretarial and caretaking services. Under this scheme, qualifying schools receive grants of £40 per pupil, £20 per pupil in respect of each service, subject to a maximum of £20,000, maximum of £10,000 in respect of each service.
These grants are paid as additions to the standardper capita grants. This scheme does not provide for the linking of the additional per capita grants to any particular pay scale. The scheme, by its nature, is flexible and gives boards of management discretion as to the manner in which secretarial and caretaking services are to be provided. Secretaries and caretakers employed by schools under the PESP scheme are employees of the individual schools and my Department does not have any role in determining the pay and con- ditions under which they are employed.
As the Deputy is aware, I have increased the rates of grant by 33% from £30 per pupil to £40 per pupil with effect from January this year. Furthermore, I also recently announced that, with effect from September of this year, I am extending the scheme to all primary schools. In addition I have set a minimum grant of £2,400 per annum which is payable to all schools with 60 pupils or less.
These improvements mean that with effect from September 2000, all primary schools will, for the first time, receive an annual grant to assist them with the provision of secretarial and caretaking services. The Government's commitment in this regard can also be measured by the fact that the funding allocated for this purpose, which was approximately £5.6 million in 1999 has increased this year to approximately £12.2 million and will further increase in 2001 to approximately £16.8 million.
