Vol. 544 No. 2
36 Mr. B. Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason school secretaries and caretakers do not receive pension cover from his Department; the total number of school secretaries and caretakers in the primary and post-primary school sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25968/01]
The funding provided by my Department to schools for secretarial and caretaking services is structured mainly on the basis of capitation grants. This provides schools with considerable flexibility in the use of resources as to the manner in which such services are provided. Accordingly, it is not possible to quantify the number of secretaries and caretakers employed by schools as requested by the Deputy.
In the case of primary and secondary schools, 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 in primary and secondary schools, and caretakers in primary schools, under which my Department meets the full cost of salary. Pension scheme arrangements apply since 1985 to secretaries employed under this scheme. The question of introducing a pension scheme for caretakers employed under this scheme was also explored fully in 1985. However, it was considered that the high age profile of caretakers at that time rendered the introduction of a pension scheme impractical. The position regarding the age profile has worsened in the interim. There are no plans at present to introduce such a pension scheme for caretakers employed in primary schools.
The 1978-79 scheme is being phased out as posts become vacant and no new posts are being created. It has been superseded under the PESP agreement of 1992 by a more extensive scheme. The PESP scheme provides grants to primary and secondary schools towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services. The scheme, by its nature, is flexible and gives schools discretion as to the manner in which these services are provided. Secretaries and caretakers 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.
In the case of vocational schools and colleges, caretaking and secretarial staff are allocated to vocational education committees on a scheme-wide basis. The way in which staffing is allocated to schools is a matter for each VEC in line with its priorities and perceptions of need. My Department has made provision for secretarial and caretaking services for all VEC schools with enrolments in excess of 200 pupils. All schools in the community and comprehensive sector have been provided with secretarial and caretaking services. Pension scheme arrangements apply in both the VEC and C&C sectors to secretaries and caretakers.
