Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 November 2013
231. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total cost to his Department in payments made to teachers who were unable to work the day of the Seanad referendum on 4 October 2013 as their school was closed to facilitate polling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50469/13]
View answerReturning Officers are statutorily responsible for the conduct of elections in the various constituencies and may, under electoral law, use school premises for this purpose. Where a school is used as a polling station for a referendum or 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 minimum number of days tuition required in the school year. It is not necessary for each of the relevant schools to seek approval from the Department for such a closure. The data requested is not therefore available within the Department.
