Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 23 Feb 2000

Vol. 162 No. 9

Adjournment Matters. - School Staffing.

Mr. T. Hayes

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I am aware he has been waiting for 15 or 20 minutes and I will try to be as brief as possible.

The kernel of the problem in relation to Scoil Aonghusa special school in Cashel, County Tipperary, is its need for clerical assistance. There seems to be an unwillingness in the Department in this regard. The board of management has expressed great concern at the historical twinning of Scoil Aonghusa and Scoil Cormac in Cashel. Scoil Cormac is now a huge school with up to 150 pupils with mild and multiple learning disabilities and it has special need for a full-time secretary. Scoil Aonghusa has great need for, but no access to, a secretary. Both schools are located on the same site in Cashel.

The board of management has pointed out to the Department many reasons for its need for a full-time secretary. The first reason is to free the principal for operational duties. The role of the principal of such a school is very onerous and time consuming. A secretary is also needed to liaise with the principal on a daily basis on administrative matters. There is a huge amount of administrative difficulties in running such a school. A secretary is needed to serve the families of 36 children with moderate to exceptional needs, which is a huge number. A secretary is also needed to provide services to the 14 full-time and ten part-time staff members and the ten FÁS trainees. The experience gained by FÁS trainees in that school has prepared them well to work in that field. Many of them have proved themselves by training in nursing and education for the handicapped. A secretary is needed to provide services for the eight therapists in the school. A secretary is also needed to provide a link with the wider community. The people in the broader catchment area of Cashel do a great deal of fundraising to support this school for which they need secretarial assistance. The list of reasons for needing a secretary goes on and on.

At a time when we hear daily about the Celtic tiger and that the economy is buoyant with cash, I implore the Minister to consider this. I do not know what he will say to me but I am not certain I will be leaving with the promise of a secretary. If that is the case, I ask him to reconsider that decision. This is very important for these people and for mental handicap education, not only in Cashel but in the wider county area. The Tipperary association for the mentally handicapped is a voluntary body which is one of the greatest examples in this country of community based help and support for the handicapped. I implore the Minister to give me a decent answer.

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

Currently my Department provides funding towards the cost of secretarial assistance in primary schools under two separate schemes.

The first of these schemes – the provision of clerk-typists in national schools – was introduced in 1978 as a job creation measure. The scheme's purpose is to meet the costs of salaries and employer's PRSI for secretarial staff employed in the larger primary schools. Under this scheme a number of primary schools qualified for a shared secretary and Scoil Aonghusa special school is currently involved in a sharing arrangement with another special school in the same area. Grants covering the cost of salaries and employer's PRSI are paid to the school authorities. The board of management of the special school with which Scoil Aonghusa has the sharing arrangement is the employer in this case.

The scheme introduced in 1978 is being phased out as posts become vacant. There is currently no provision for the appointment of full-time secretaries in posts which are being shared. The second scheme for the provision of secretarial and caretaking services in primary schools was introduced in 1992 as part of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, PESP. Under the programme's terms, a phased programme of financial assistance by way of a supplementary capitation grant for the provision of secretarial and caretaker services came into effect on 1 September 1992. Primary schools eligible for grant assistance under this scheme receive £30 per pupil per annum, subject to a maximum of £15,000, in respect of secretarial and caretaking services if they do not have such services already under the Department's existing schemes for the employment of secretaries and caretakers. Where a school already has either a secretarial or caretaking service under the Department's existing schemes, it is only entitled to receive £15 per pupil, subject to a maximum of £7,500. Boards of management are responsible for making the necessary arrangements for the provision of secretarial and caretaking services appropriate to the needs of the school.

With effect from January 2000, all primary schools with 100 or more pupils which do not have a service already are eligible for a grant of £30 per pupil. Therefore, as Scoil Aonghusa has a shared secretary arrangement under the 1978 scheme, it also currently receives £15 per pupil towards the cost of caretaking services under the PESP scheme.

The Senator will be aware that an additional £9 million was provided for in the recent budget for the next two years which will enable me to extend and improve the supports available to all primary schools. Details of the implementation of this will be worked out in the near future following con sultations and will, when taken together with the earlier move, make a major contribution to assisting schools. The issue of providing further assistance to schools involved in a sharing arrangement is a matter that is being examined in my Department in the context of the working out of the details of the improvements in the scheme which I have outlined.

I have noted the Senator's comments about this school and the onus on the principal. In the consultations taking place now, I will consider the points raised.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 24 February 2000.