Vol. 509 No. 6
593 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has satisfied himself that, where posts of responsibility are allocated, these should be administered in a fair, equitable and reasonable manner; and his views on whether any extra mechanisms are needed within schools to ensure this. [21346/99]
595 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has satisfied himself that the guidelines of circulars sent by his Department are implemented properly; the monitoring, if any, there is in this regard; and if he has satisfied himself that circular 6/97 has been implemented in a fair way. [21348/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 593 and 595 together.
The terms of the circulars dealing with the allocation of posts of responsibility for primary schools and the procedures for making appointments to the posts were agreed following extensive discussions with the managerial authorities and the INTO. The implementation of the circulars is a matter for the managerial authorities of primary schools.
There is provision in Circular 6/97 for an appeal to be lodged by an unsuccessful candidate. The appeal is submitted to an independent board of arbitration for decision. The board of arbitration consists of three members who are appointed by agreement between the managerial authorities of the school and the INTO.
I understand that the number of appeals submitted by unsuccessful candidates to the arbitration boards is very small in the context of the overall number of appointments.
My Department consults with the managerial authorities and the INTO on a regular basis with regard to the implementation of the circulars and it is proposed to hold further discussions in the near future to review the operation of the circulars dealing with posts of responsibility.
