I am sure the Taoiseach will join with me in wishing the tens of thousands who are going to sitting State exams next week well. As we come towards the end of the school year, we must express our gratitude to school communities for all the work they do. School caretakers and secretaries are an essential part of those school communities. In September of last year, that they were forced to take to the picket lines. None of them wanted to be there. I would be grateful if the Taoiseach could provide an update regarding progress on resolving the dispute with school caretakers and secretaries and to convey our thanks to them for the work they do within our schools.

I was almost wishing the leaving certificate upon us given the very tough, wet winter we had. I said that surely when the leaving certificate comes around we would get good weather. Lo and behold, we have scorching weather, which is unfortunate for the students involved. It seems to be the case every year that there is a burst of sunshine at this time. I hope it will create a good backdrop to what is a very significant exam for the students. We wish them well. The good news is that there are many routes to help them get to their desired qualifications and careers.

On the school caretakers and secretaries, that matter is being dealt with by the labour relations machinery at the moment. I have been discussing it with the Minister, Deputy Chambers. I pay tribute to school secretaries and caretakers. They are an indispensable cog in the wheel of how schools operate. I accept what the Deputy is saying. The objective is to have this resolved before the commencement of the next school year. Hopefully, it will be resolved long before then.