Vol. 519 No. 5
359 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the requirements imposed in relation to the uses to which the science grant of £400 to £1,000 for primary schools issued in October 1999, may be devoted; and if he will give details of the amount of the money which has been spent and the items upon which it was spent in this regard. [14470/00]
All primary schools were issued with grants in October 1999 to assist them with the purchase of science teaching equipment and materials. These grants amounted in total to approximately £1.75 million. The size of grant varied with the size of school, however, a minimum grant of £400 was paid to schools of less than 50 pupils while schools of more than 500 pupils received the maximum grant of £1,000.
A circular that was issued at that time indicated the types of equipment and materials that the grant could be expended upon. Schools are required to keep a record of all equipment purchased with the grant, as these records may need to be produced at a later stage for inspection by officers of the Department. However, it would not be feasible to request schools to inform my Department of the amount of money that has been spent or the items upon which it was spent, and consequently the information sought by the Deputy is not available.
