Vol. 385 No. 1
asked the Minister for Education if she will favour the reactivation of the proposal made by the Fianna Fáil Government in 1943, that the present system of individual responsibility of each national school for school building projects be replaced by a committee to be established in each diocese to provide the local contribution and to arrange an ordered programme of school building for the area on a priority basis.
86.
asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the fact that of 386 national schools built between 1957 and 1962 the average local contribution was 13.7 per cent; and the equivalent average for the period 1983 to 1988.
96.
asked the Minister for Education if she will indicate the proportion of total cost met by local or parish contribution in each national school building project undertaken in the past year; and if there is any case in which the State contribution exceeded 95 per cent or was less than 70 per cent.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 83, 86 and 96 together.
The provisions relating to the amount of grant and local contribution in connection with national school building applications handled by my Department are set out in Chapter V of the Rules for National Schools, Rule 42. I am not aware that there has been any recent demand that responsibility for the provision of the local contribution should be in the hands of committees, and I have no plans to initiate such a proposal. The information sought by the Deputy as to the average local contribution in respect of national schools built during the period 1983 to 1988 is not readily available, and I am reluctant to divert staff from other urgent work for the purpose of providing it in advance of the publication of this data in the normal course.
With regard to the proportion of total cost met by local or parish contribution in each national school project in the past year, the financial details of individual projects have always been considered to be confidential as between the school authorities and my Department, and it is not the practice to disclose them. There have been circumstances in recent years in which the State grant exceeded 95 per cent, and where it was less than 70 per cent.
