As previously advised to the Deputy, the Department of Education has been providing a payroll service for former grant funded school secretaries with effect from 1st September 2023 a s part of a package greed with Fórsa, the trade union representing school secretaries, following a series of engagements at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in 2022.
The agreement however did not grant public servant status to school secretaries and therefore this cohort do not have access to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme. Any changes to the terms and conditions for school secretaries can occur only under established industrial relations processes and would need to be considered in detail by this Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.