Written Answers. - School Libraries
Róisín Shortall
Question:
174
Ms Shortall
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the percentage of second-level schools which currently have a library; the staff allocations which he has made for staffing school libraries; the proposals for extending library and staffing provision for schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12736/02]
My Department does not have details of the number of schools with library facilities. However, where new schools are being built or where existing schools are undergoing major refurbishment and/or extension at post primary level provision is made for a library of 100 metres squared in schools with an enrolment of 200-499 students and 136 metres squared in schools with more than 500 students. Schools below 200 are examined individually.
In addition, in recent years two grants have issued post primary schools to assist them with the development of their library resource materials. The first grant was called a library grant and was issued by my Department in December 1998 which amounted to £2,500, while disadvantaged schools received £5,320.
A second grant issued to all post primary schools in December 1999 as part of the national reading initiative. Post-primary schools received £7.70 per pupil, while a minimum grant of £1,540 was paid to all schools with less than 200 recognised pupils. At second level the two grants amounted to £5.2 million.
My Department provides funding towards staffing in second level schools by means of per capita grants. In this regard significant improvements have been made in the level of funding to second level schools. The standardper capita grant from €224.74 that applied in 1997, was increased to €256.49 in this school year, and will be further significantly increased by €10 for the next school year to €266.49. An additional per capita grant of €38.09 is paid to disadvantaged schools bringing the total per capita grant in the case of such schools to over €300. In addition, under the school services support initiative, second level schools will benefit from further significant increases in the support grant from €25.40 per pupil to €99.04 per pupil over this school year and the next. This funding may be used towards general expenses or towards the provision of additional support services including secretarial, caretaking or library staff.
Funding for voluntary secondary schools has been further enhanced by the introduction of a range of equalisation measures that are designed to reduce historic anomalies in the funding arrangements for the different school types at second level. I recently announced a major equalisation measure for voluntary secondary schools. Under the terms of this measure, the support services grant will be increased by €28 per pupil with effect from September 2002. This will bring the support services grant in the case of secondary schools to €116.88 per pupil from September next and to €127.04 per pupil from 1 January next. This increase is in addition to the range of equalisation grants of up to €15,554 per school –€44.44 per pupil – per annum that was approved for secondary schools last December.
For a school with 500 pupils, this amounts to extra funding of up to €100,000 per annum, and annual grants of up to €236,761 –€255,811 in the case of disadvantaged schools – towards general expenses and support services.
As individual school authorities are best placed to assess their staffing requirements, the funding provided under the schools support services fund is flexible and gives schools discretion as to the manner in which support services are provided.
