asked the Minister for Education if he will consider changing the present grant-aid system for schools in urban areas to a minimum grant unrelated to numbers of enrolment, as city-centre schools, which due to the particular problems of declining population in some cases and problems such as structural age in other cases, have needs which do not relate to capitation numbers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Grant-Aid for Schools.
15.
Consideration has been given to the method of funding national schools and in accordance with the commitment given in the Programme for Action in Education consultations took place with the patrons' representatives. It is generally agreed that within existing resources there would be difficulty in changing the present system of capitation grants. The problems of certain inner-city schools are recognised and special additional grants have been made to the patrons of schools in Dublin, Cork and Limerick so as to enable them to supplement the local contribution to schools which have been designated as serving disadvantaged areas. The total provision for the schools in disadvantaged areas has been increased by 50 per cent and is £.75 million in the current year. There are no plans to introduce the change suggested in the case of second level schools.