My Department provides funding for 1 Clerical Officer, 2 Caretakers and 4,978 annual cleaning hours to the school referred to by the Deputy. This is in addition to funding the salary of the Secretary who has now retired.
Under current arrangements schools are permitted to fill Clerical Officer and Caretaker vacancies up to a max of 1 Clerical Officer and 1 Caretaker. In this regard my Department is not in a position to sanction the replacement of the Secretary that retired in the school referred to by the Deputy.
My Department acknowledges the need to improve the arrangements with regard to the replacement of Secretaries and Caretakers, particularly for the larger schools. However, progress on this is dependent on the availability of additional budgetary funding. While Budget 2019 has provided for improvements in basic arrangements, the Department is not yet in a position to fund the employment of additional secretaries.
Schools are permitted discretion in the use of the Schools Services Support Fund in accordance with their own needs and priorities. However, the provision of secretarial and maintenance services is a particular focus of this fund which is a significant resource for schools in regard to employing additional administrative and maintenance staff. The grant paid to the school in question for the 2017/18 school year amounted to €107,547.
The Schools Services Support Fund was increased by €2 to €113 per pupil in 2016 and by €3 to €116 per pupil in 2017 and by €2.50 to €118.50 per pupil in 2018 to enable schools implement pay increases for ancillary staff arising from the unwinding of FEMPI.
