Vol. 497 No. 4
187 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the funding arrangements for secondary voluntary schools in the free education scheme, secondary voluntary schools which are fee paying and Protestant fee paying schools. [25288/98]
My Department meets the salary cost of teacher allocations made to all recognised fee and non fee paying second-level schools.
In addition, voluntary secondary schools in the free education scheme receive per capita grants on the basis of pupil enrolments at the rate of £177. An additional per capita grant of £30 per pupil is paid to schools which have been designated as disadvantaged bringing the overall grant paid to such schools to £207 per pupil. These schools are also eligible to receive support for the employment of caretakers and secretaries and a range of other smaller curricular support grants.
Voluntary fee paying secondary schools do not receive the per capita grant in respect of their students nor do they receive support for the employment of secretaries and caretakers or other grants to which schools in the free education scheme are entitled.
In the case of Protestant schools, all of which are fee paying, a block grant is payable to the Secondary Education Committee for distribution among needier Protestant children to enable them to attend a Protestant school. The amount of this grant in the 1997-8 school year was £3 million approximately. These schools are also eligible to receive all grants payable to schools in the free education scheme with the exception of the per capita grant.
All voluntary secondary schools are eligible to apply for grant aid for building projects under the scheme for payment of grants towards the building of recognised secondary schools.
Grant aid is allocated to secondary schools on the basis of identifiable need by the planning and building unit of my Department.
