An increase of £3.4 million was made in the 1993 provision for capitation grants for primary schools. This enabled me to increase the standard rate of grant to £33 per pupil in ordinary national schools, with pro-rata increases for certain other categories of school. This increase cost in the region of £2.8 million. The remaining £0.6 million was used to initiate further measures to assist those who are most disadvantaged.
It is my intention to improve the financial position of primary and post-primary schools to the extent that the availability of resources permits. I will be reviewing the existing rates of capitation grant to schools in the light of the results of the unit cost studies on primary and post-primary schools when summaries and my comments thereon have been prepared.