THE Department of Education and representatives of City of Limerick VEC are to discuss the case of a former school principal who has been paid a salary for 20 years although she has not worked for the VEC during that time. A spokesperson for the Department described the case as a "legal quagmire."
Ms Lucy Carr was suspended without pay in 1976 for alleged misconduct. Following a sworn inquiry she was reinstated in 1980 and received backdated pay.
During her suspension the school of which she had been principal had closed, so she was offered another post beneath principal level but at a principal's salary.
Ms Carr refused to take up the position, according to the Department of Education, and initiated legal proceedings. In 1991 the Supreme Court found she was entitled to her job as principal and that she should be paid her full salary from the time she had been suspended a figure now estimated to be over £300,000.
The VEC has been pressing to terminate Ms Carr's contract of employment. But the Department says this must be done in accordance with strict legal procedure. The VEC and the Department have received conflicting legal advice.
A spokesperson for the VEC said: "Our committee has put it to the Minister that this situation obviously can't continue. We are just anxious to sort this out."
The spokesperson for the Department said it had recently received legal advice and would be meeting VEC representatives to find a way forward.