Colm M. Hilliard
Question:330 Mr. Hilliard asked the Minister for Education the savings, if any, anticipated in view of the extra expenditure under Subhead B21 of Vote 26 in the 1996 Estimates. [19332/96]
Written Answers. - 1996 Estimates
A contingency provision of £350,000 is being included in the 1996 Estimates in connection with the startup costs of the proposed education boards. It is anticipated that the necessary legislation setting up the boards will be in place this year.
The establishment of education boards will involve changing the administrative framework for education. This process will not result in a completely new area of expenditure in addition to the present expenditure levels, but rather will also involve the reallocation of funding and administrative responsibilities within the education system. In this process, resources will be freed from some areas to help offset resource needs in other areas.
The gradual transfer of functions to the boards will facilitate careful appraisal of the incremental costs in the context of the Education Estimates for the year in question, within the overall context of the budgetary parameters approved by Government. It is therefore not possible to be precise at this stage about the costs and savings arising from the establishment of the education boards, taking account of all the relevant factors, when the new arrangements become fully operational.