Dick Spring
Question:174 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will increase the capitation grant in respect of students attending the Mercy primary school, Moyderwell, Tralee, County Kerry. [20669/98]
Written Answers. - Capitation Grants.
The Deputy will be aware that An Action Programme for the Millennium contains a commitment to give primary education a clear priority in the allocation of resources.
The Government's commitment in this regard was clearly reflected in the 1998 Estimates, which provided for an overall increase of almost 12 per cent in expenditure on primary education. In this context, the 11 per cent increase in the standard rate of capitation grant represented an important step forward in the process of improving funding of the primary sector.
Mercy primary school, Moyderwell received a total of £17,428 in capitation funding in the 1997-98 school year based on an enrolment of 305 pupils. As this was the appropriate amount payable under the terms of the scheme, I regret that it is not open to my Department to make an additional or increased capitation grant available to the school.
However, I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to give priority to the issue of further increases in the capitation grant, which will benefit all primary schools, including the Mercy primary school.