School Closures.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 May 2004

Thursday, 6 May 2004

Questions (127)

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

127 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science the arrangements made between the boards of management, his Department and those schools whose premises are used as polling stations for elections, if the two school days lost as a result of the electronic voting will be replaced by the teachers or if the standardisation of the school term year results in teachers being on the payroll but not teaching in those schools that are used for electoral purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13038/04]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

The agreement reached between the parties to the Teachers' Conciliation Council on the standardisation of the school year covers only the breaks at Christmas and Easter and the mid-term breaks in the first and second terms.

Schools are required to be open for a minimum number of tuition days each year — 183 days in the case of primary schools and 167 days in the case of second level schools. However, where a school is used as a polling station for elections on a day on which the school was scheduled to be open, the school authorities concerned are allowed to count the day of polling as a day of exceptional closing and are not required to make up that day for the purposes of meeting the appropriate 183 or 167 day requirement.