The judge has asked the board and Mr Ó Suird to see if a “creative” solution can be negotiated or mediated before he makes final orders on Thursday.
Having welcomed being made a notice party, Mr Finan said the department was taking no view on the facts of the case but its position is that there are only monies under section 24 of the Education Act for “a principal” and not for two. The board is “absolutely committed” to the best interests of the school and to finding any creative solution to deal with this matter, she said. It is not that the board is against Mr Ó Suird but it is conscious it is the employer of the sitting principal, she said.She knew the judge took the view this situation was “of the board’s own making”, adding: “We are where we are.”
When two schools are amalgamated, one principal becomes principal of the new entity and the other becomes a “privileged assistant” who is paid a principal’s allowance, he added.