asked the Minister for Education the circumstances in which substitute teachers are paid in cases of the absence of permanent teachers in secondary, community/comprehensive and VEC second level schools.
Written Answers. - Employment of Substitute Teachers.
218.
In the case of secondary teachers the payment of substitute teachers is allowed by my Department when permanent teachers are absent on certified sick leave, maternity leave or when acting as examiners at the Department's oral examinations.
It will be appreciated that it is not feasible to indicate each and every kind of situation in which paid substitution may or may not be allowed. Apart from the absences referred to above paid substitution is not sanctioned unless it is established to the Department's satisfaction that alternative arrangements connot suitably and reasonably be made.
In the case of VEC second level schools the position is that teachers are paid salary by the VECs by which they are employed. It is not feasible to indicate each and every kind of situation in which paid substitution may or may not be allowed. In 1978 my Department issued detailed guidelines to the VECs and to the Teachers' Union of Ireland on the question of the employment of substitute teachers in vocational schools. A copy of the guidelines can be supplied if desired. The same guidelines, in general, apply in regard to substitute teachers in community and comprehensive schools as apply in vocational schools.