Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 March 2022
312. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Education if a grade three school secretary can only move up to grade four if their school has 40 full-time staff; if so, when this criterion was devised; the reason for this condition; if she will review this criterion in order that these school secretaries are not left behind in terms of pay and related issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12370/22]
View answerThe process referred to by the Deputy is outlined in a letter to school management bodies on 12 August 1998. The issue was part of the agreement on the pay and conditions of school secretaries, considered under Clause 2 (iii) of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, and subsequent revisions of this agreement have been agreed through standard union engagement, most recently in 2020. Additional amendments to this agreement can only be achieved through engagement and collective bargaining agreements between the Government and the public service unions.
For clarity, the rationale of linking grading to the calculation of the number of WTE teaching staff that a school is entitled to reflects the fact that this calculation relates strongly to the number of students enrolled in a school and other supports as outlined in the agreement. It is not the actual number of staff in the school which underpins the grading.
