Vol. 475 No. 8
139 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Education the progress, if any, made in addressing the problems of staffing in St. Angela's College, Sligo; whether the matter will go before the conciliation conference at the Labour Commission; the status of the conference; and when a decision or progress will be made on the matter. [6095/97]
The question of staffing in St. Angela's College of Education for Home Economics, Sligo, was discussed at labour relations conferences on 30 January and 27 February and is to be discussed again at a labour relations conference on 13 March.
The Labour Relations Commission was established in January 1991 under section 24 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990. A conference under the Labour Relations Commission is held to enable the resolution of an industrial dispute. Where the commission is satisfied that no further efforts on its part will advance the resolution of the dispute and the parties to the dispute request the Labour Court to investigate the matter, the commission will report the dispute to the court.
A review group, under the auspices of the Higher Education Authority is, at the moment, examining the question of teacher supply and demand in the second level sector including home economics.
Pending the outcome of this review it has not been possible to sanction the creation of permanent posts. I must also emphasise that Government policy on the limitation of numbers employed in the public service imposes severe constraints on the creation of new posts.
