I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 34 together.
As already confirmed by the Minister for Finance in his reply to Deputy O'Donnell on 24 May 1995 and by myself in my reply to Deputy Martin on 28 September 1995, the cost implications of implementing the education reform proposals, including the cost of establishing the education boards, were considered as part of the process of finalising the White Paper on Education. The Minister for Finance and his officials participated in that process.
The White Paper on Education, Charting Our Education Future, makes clear that the establishment of education boards will take place on a phased basis, following the enactment of the necessary legislation. 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.
The establishment of the boards will also bring significant benefits for the administration and effectiveness of education services, through improved regional planning and co-ordination and the provision of support services to primary and secondary schools in the most cost-effective way. The establishment of the education boards will involve changing the administrative framework for education. It will not result in a completely new area of expenditure but rather will involve the reallocation of funding and administrative responsibilities within the education system.
As Deputies are aware, costing exercises can depend on many variable factors. These factors include the startup time of an initiative, the timescale within which a proposal is implemented, the outcome of discussions/negotiations with concerned interests, expert advice on the detailed implementation strategies and the final administrative and operational arrangements.
The operational cost of the education boards, like the costs of many education reform measures, will be determined to a large extent by pay costs. These in turn would reflect the numbers employed by the board and pay rates at any given time. It would not be useful or appropriate for me to comment now on what the various elements of new administrative structures might cost at some time in the future.