Union says principals could be owed €1.6m

HUNDREDS of second-level principals may be owed up to €1.6 million because of a dispute over payment for running a schools supervision scheme, their union has claimed.

In the 400 religious-run secondary schools and more than 90 community and comprehensive schools, 5% of the budget for the scheme is divided between the staff who administer it - usually the principal or their deputy and a secretary. But the money has not been paid to most of the 240 schools run by Vocational Education Committees for the last four years.

The annual payment for a 400-student vocational school or community college is around €1,900. But because these also receive administrative support from their city or county VEC, there is disagreement about how the money should be divided after being paid to the VEC by the Department of Education.