Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
297. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Education what steps will be taken to allay parent concerns regarding a school (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30749/23]
View answerThe Board of Management of a school is the employer of teachers and other staff of the school as set out in Section 24 of the Education Act, 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act, 2012). The Department of Education is not the employer of teachers. The Department acts as Paymaster on behalf of a school’s Boards of Management who employ teachers and pays teachers upon instruction from Boards of Management.
Circular Letter 0054/2019 deals with leave schemes for registered teachers employed in recognised primary and post primary schools. The terms of the circular require each school to develop and maintain a policy on teacher absences, including non-statutory schemes e.g. job sharing, career breaks, unpaid leave, specific to the needs of the school authority. In drawing up this policy, the welfare and educational needs of the pupils must take precedence over all other considerations and must be in accordance with the rules of this Circular.
This policy shall have due regard to the capacity of the school to meet its obligations to its pupils and may therefore apply a limit to the number of teaching staff that may avail of non-statutory leave schemes at any one time. Employers must consider applications in the context of other statutory and non-statutory leave and must also take into account the availability of an appropriately qualified replacement teacher.
