TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan has rejected Fine Gael claims that the Department of Finance is “running rings” around her department in a row about the impact of the moratorium on middle management teaching posts.

Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes said school authorities could not make appointments “because they don’t know the number of posts, if any, they will be allocated next year”, for year heads, programme coordinators and exam secretaries.

These posts could not be filled because “the Minister has allowed the Department of Finance to run rings around her”. She had promised nine weeks ago a decision was imminent about assisting schools directly affected, he added.

The Minister said she hoped discussions on “alleviation” for schools impacted by the embargo would have been completed last week but said she had gone back to the Department of Finance “on a number of issues that I want to have addressed. Hopefully we will have the matter resolved in the next number of days”.

She said “protracted discussions” were taking place with the Department of Finance and “I don’t accept the Deputy’s perspective”. She told the Dáil that since the March 2009 embargo on recruitment, “309 principals, 260 deputy principals, 145 assistant principals and 223 teachers with special duties posts of responsibility” had retired at primary level.

Principal and deputy principal appointments in all primary and post-primary schools were exempted by the moratorium, which she said was “limited to the assistant principal and special duties allowances payable to teachers on promotion”. Ms Coughlan insisted “the position whereby just over 50 per cent of all teachers have promotion allowances is simply not sustainable”.

Mr Hayes asked: “When will schools be informed of the limited alleviation to which she referred nine weeks ago? The Minister said the discussions would be finished soon and “I am doing my utmost to have that matter resolved”.