I enjoyed Deputy Durkan's contribution, but I assure him there was no need for a decoy in terms of this budget. We want people to focus on it because it is perhaps the most historic budget in a long time, particularly in terms of personal taxation. It is an historic, reforming and radical budget, as most objective commentators described it, particularly on the tax front where a significant change has taken place. The move towards tax credits will be more egalitarian and will facilitate future Governments in targeting resources in a more effective manner, particularly at those on low incomes.
I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Minister for Finance on an outstanding budget, for using the opportunity well to effect radical change on the tax front, for bringing in a comprehensive social inclusion package which embraces health, education and social welfare and for keeping strong fiscal control over the situation and moving to reduce the national debt in a substantial way. Future generations will pay tribute to the Minister for that particular initiative because it gives us sustainability over the years in terms of social progress and the many social inclusion programmes we are promoting. If times get bad or if there is reduced economic growth, it will be better to have to pay back less in debt repayments on an ongoing annual basis. That is perhaps the best guarantee of keeping our social services in tact and of growing them on a gradual basis. In terms of the health budget, I refute Deputy Durkan's remarks. There has been substantial investment in health which will facilitate considerable investment in the waiting list initiatives.
I take this opportunity to outline to the House the impact of the budget on education policy, particularly in terms of educational disadvantage. The issue of educational disadvantage was mentioned by the Minister and I am pleased to outline the details of the extra resources available to tackle educational disadvantage over the next two years.
On top of the Estimates volume published last month, yesterday education was allocated an additional £10 million in 1999 and £19 million in the year 2000 specifically to target educational disadvantage. This funding, combined with the other extra funding already provided for in the Book of Estimates, means I am in a position to announce a total of £57.2 million in new expenditure targeted solely at disadvantage over the next two years.
This is a comprehensive plan which far outstrips any comparable allocations previously provided. I will outline the details of the initiatives which this extra funding will enable us to implement. I hope to be able to add further to this package in the context of future budgetary discussion. As a result of this extra funding, 450 new teachers will be appointed effective from next September, split evenly between first and second levels. They will all be used to address issues of educational disadvantage.
While other allocations have yet to be decided, two priority areas will be addressed. Every school at primary and second level will have a remedial teaching service available to it from next September. Every disadvantaged school at first and second level will have a home-school community liaison service available to it from next September. A total of 225 new primary teachers will be appointed as a result of this programme. In addition, extra funding will be provided to schools for part-time teaching hours. These extra teachers are separate from the demographic dividend for 1999, which will be allocated during next year.
From next September a remedial teacher service will be available to all primary schools. All schools currently without a service will receive a service in line with the recommendation that each teacher should deal with approximately 30 pupils in need of the service. Mainstream schools with a pupil teacher ratio of below 10:1 and which currently have no service may apply for a service where they can demonstrate the needs of their pupils.
Home-school-community liaison teachers provide a valuable service in many schools serving disadvantaged areas. The allocation of additional teaching posts as part of this programme, shared in the case of smaller schools, will ensure that every disadvantaged school will have access to this service from next September. That service was established by the former Minister for Education, Deputy O'Rourke, in 1991. It was not consistently supported over recent years with the result that there are still many disadvantaged schools without a home-school liaison service. We must get the fundamentals right in terms of tackling educational disadvantage. The home-school liaison programme is one of the key programmes to do that, in conjunction with the remedial service.
A total of 225 new second level teachers will also be appointed as a result of this programme. Combined with a significant change to the manner of dealing with over quota staffing in secondary schools, these new teachers will enable the move towards the provision of an automatic remedial resource in all schools and home-school-community liaison in all disadvantaged schools.
The new package will be resourced by allocating an additional teaching provision to schools which are within quota and lack the appropriate remedial and home-school provision. In the case of schools with over quota teachers who might otherwise be re-deployed, this resource will be utilised in the first instance to meet the remedial and home-school needs of the school.
Following the implementation of the above package, some schools will have on their staff over quota permanent teachers. In deciding on whether these teachers come within the redeployment scheme, a ratio of 18:1 will be utilised. The impact of this is that schools will be allowed to retain teachers who might otherwise have been placed on the redeployment panel. This will give schools greater certainty in relation to the utilisation of these permanent teachers pending the occurrence of retirements.
I have already announced the major package of automatic entitlements for many children with disabilities. This package, which will cost £8 million over the next two years, deals comprehensively with resource teaching and child care assistance. It is now intended to go further and to provide for escorts and safety harnesses for all children with disabilities travelling on school buses. This move will cost £3.4 million in the next two years. I cannot believe this funding was not provided in recent years for children with disabilities travelling on school buses. It should have been done a long time ago and I am glad this budget has provided the resources to enable us to do it. I am also glad the budget provided an additional £50,000, over and above that provided for in the published Estimates, for the Association for Children with Learning Difficulties which does such effective work for children with dyslexia throughout the country.
The Government has placed a high priority on the establishment of a national educational psychology service. This service will play a vital role in helping to identify the special educational needs of children. Some £1.5 million is being allocated for the establishment and initial staffing of the service over the next two years. This is in line with the recommendations made by a steering committee which I established last year to report on the feasibility of establishing a national educational psychology service. It recommended the appointment of 30 psychologists per annum over the next four years to meet the needs throughout the country. This funding will meet those needs over the next two years.
To help schools in disadvantaged areas to more effectively meet the needs of their students, an initiative will be put in place to assist them in developing the school plans and to provide for additional support for teachers. This will cost £2 million over the next two years. The feedback from many of the pilot projects introduced, such as Breaking the Cycle and Youthstart, shows that the key issues, apart from pupil-teacher ratios, are planning and in-service for all teachers in schools. We must provide comprehensive resources for teachers and schools, particularly designated disadvantaged schools, so they can plan their approaches and strategies properly.
An effective programme in substance abuse education for primary schools has already been piloted. This should now be introduced into all primary schools and, as a result, I am providing £1 million for this purpose. Some £400,000 is being provided for the purchase of equipment for special needs teachers.
The Government's full policy on early education will be contained in a White Paper which I will publish next year. I have already received the report of the National Forum for Early Childhood Education which I established earlier this year. For the first time ever in the history of the State, we brought all the various players together under the one roof. As a result, we have a comprehensive report which will lead to the publication of a White Paper. In the interim, I will provide £1.2 million for special initiatives on early education. It is intended that these will focus on early education for children with disabilities.
It is a key policy aim of mine to increase the number of traveller children benefiting from education provision. I have already established a representative group to advise me on this area. As an encouragement to second level schools to meet the needs of local traveller children, a new capitation payment similar to that available at primary level will be introduced from January. This will cost £300,000 over the next two years.
Increasing the number of children who complete the senior cycle is a key policy objective of the Government. On top of already announced initiatives, special targeted interventions in areas with particularly low completion rates will be implemented. Some £1.5 million has been allocated for this purpose. The Department has undertaken considerable research in this area. We know where the retention rates are low and where there is a need for specific targeted intervention in areas of educational disadvantage to increase the retention and completion rates in those second level schools.
The high level of functional illiteracy among adults is of major concern to the Government. Having doubled funding for literacy programmes in 1998, a further £3.2 million has been allocated for the next two years. Last year there was a £2 million increase on the £2 million already available. Comprehensive funding is now being provided for adult literacy. In addition, we are providing £1.6 million for new part-time options in Youthreach and VTOS programmes to facilitate both young people and adults, who are outside the mainstream system, to return to education on a modular or part-time basis to secure badly needed qualifications.
A number of innovative capital projects focused at areas of significant disadvantage will be funded over the next two years. The details of these projects, which will cost £7 million, will be announced in the coming months.
Total additional funding of £6.9 million will be allocated over the next two years to tackle issues of educational disadvantage in third level. This will have three key elements. Some £1.5 million will be targeted at addressing the issue of non-completion of courses in important parts of the third level system. This problem is believed to be particularly experienced by students from disadvantaged backgrounds. We will work with third level institutions to plan the appropriate strategies and to make the relevant resources available so that we have an impact on attrition rates in third level.
Some £2.4 million will be provided to fund an extension of the maintenance grants scheme so that all independent mature students will now qualify for the higher, non-adjacent, rate of grant from the next academic year. That is an important initiative for mature students. It was an anomaly and a discrimination which was there for some time and was creating an obstacle to independent mature students returning to third level education.
Some £3 million will be allocated to promote access to third level among students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including people with disabilities. This programme will have an impact in terms of added supports and initiatives which some third level institutions have already embarked upon by encouraging second level students in disadvantaged areas to enrol in and become familiar with third level programmes. We will also increase hardship funds in a number of institutions.
Within the next ten days, I will announce the details of a once-off special initiative in the area of educational disadvantage which will cost £6.5 million. As an essential part of the implementation process, my Department will put in place a new co-ordination structure to ensure the effectiveness of our initiatives on educational disadvantage. This package represents the largest ever concentrated funding for tackling educational disadvantage. It comprehensively covers areas from early education to adult literacy and will put major resources into employing more teachers, the most important educational resource available. I pay tribute to Deputy McCreevy who has made a huge commitment to education since his appointment and made possible many major initiatives over the past 15 months by the provision of substantial resources.
This began with the educational and technology investment fund of more than £250 million. There have also been a number of significant increases in the primary capital programme which now stands at £55 million, it was £27 million in 1997. The Minister increased the second level capital programme to £60 million this year, compared with £33 million in 1997. Likewise, two weeks ago we announced an historic research and development package totalling £180 million which will put Ireland at the cutting edge of research and innovation and have a significant impact on economic competitiveness. There is also a significant investment package in educational disadvantage over and above many of the other initiatives I announced in terms of investment in education.
Through the extra allocation of funds, combined with the resources allocated in the Estimates, this budget goes a long way to meeting many of the needs within the education system. I acknowledge that we will continue to have some distance to travel. However, most objective analysts would agree that the Minister for Finance has shown a genuine and sincere commitment to education in terms of the priority he has given it and through the provision of resources.