Vol. 486 No. 1
861 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps, if any, taken to date in 1998 to honour the commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium to give primary education a clear priority in allocating resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1435/98]
The Deputy will be pleased to note that I have overseen the launch of an extended supply panel scheme. The supply panel is designed to assist boards of management to obtain the services of qualified primary teachers to provide mainly short-term cover for teachers absent on certified sick leave. In January of this year the scheme was extended, with a further 30 teachers employed in 11 schools throughout the country.
In addition, the standard rate of capitation grant to primary schools has been increased by £5 to a new rate of £50 per pupil. The position in respect of capital funding is that the Government has approved an allocation of £39.3 million in the current year and this represents a substantial increase on the 1997 allocation.
