Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD has called on the Minister for Education to work with the Minister for Social Protection to ensure flexibility for school staff paid through the Ancillary Services Grant.

He said:

“Many school staff; including many secretaries, bus helpers, caretakers and others are paid through the Ancillary Services Grant.

“I have been advised that these staff members are to be paid as normal while schools are closed, but also that the ordinary procedure during the Easter break will apply – this involves signing on for the Easter period, which usually involves staff getting a form signed by the school and dropping it to an Intreo office.

“When you multiply that by thousands of schools, this is a lot of potential contact at a time when we are all meant to be minimising travel arrangements and I am urging the Ministers involved to ensure a better arrangement is reached.

“Either these staff members continue to be paid directly in some form by the Department of Education, or they can be facilitated by Intreo ringing the School Principal to confirm that they are working in the school.

“I have contacted the Department of Education to ask them to engage with the Department of Social Protection to rectify this issue.”