asked the Minister for Education if he is aware that the amount received from national sources towards the expenses of the City of Dublin Vocational Committee, 50 per cent. of whose income is derivable from the city rates, is on the basis of £1 for every £1 subscribed by the Dublin Corporation, as against a national contribution of £4 in Cork and £2 in Dun Laoghaire for the same local contribution; and if he is prepared to adjust the national grant in Dublin to at least that allocated to Dun Laoghaire.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Vocational Education Contributions.
The annual Government grant paid to a vocational education committee is made up of two sums, viz. (i) a basic grant calculated on the total of the various Government grants payable to the committee prior to the passing of the Vocational Education Act of 1930, and (ii) an additional grant based on the amount by which the contribution from the local rates exceeds the minimum prescribed in Section 43 (2) (a) of that Act. When determining the manner in which this additional grant should be calculated consideration was given to the circumstances and financial needs of the various classes of vocational education committees.
In the case of Dublin City, in view of the slow rate of development of the committee's scheme and the large and increasing rateable valuation of the county borough, it was considered that an additional grant of £1 for each £1 of excess rate contribution would be sufficient. The fact that during the past ten years the committee had accumulated a substantial credit balance shows that this basis of calculation was not inequitable, and that the implied insufficiency of the Government grant was not responsible for lack of progress in the development of the committee's scheme.
Regarding the inquiry in the last paragraph of the Deputy's question, a proposal for an increase in the Government grant to the committee can be considered only if it is shown at any time that its total income from other sources is insufficient to defray its approved expenditure.
I wish to correct a slight inaccuracy in this question—where it is stated that 50 per cent. of the vocational education committee's income is derived from the city rates. While it is true that the additional Government grant is equivalent to the excess rate contribution, the total amount of the annual Government grants made to the committee has always exceeded by a substantial sum (over £10,000) the total amount contributed from the local rates.