I met with representatives of the Church of Ireland Board of Education, led by Archbishop John Neill, on 13 November last.
The meeting provided me with an opportunity to explain at first hand the context for the budget changes that were of concern to the Bishops and the schools serving the Church of Ireland and other minority churches. In the course of the meeting, I confirmed my budget day announcement that the funding provided through the Protestant Block grant was being continued by the Government. I explained that against a backdrop of a difficult economic and fiscal situation I had to take decisions that impacted on the staffing and the range of funding grants to schools generally. The decision to cease paying certain grants to the Protestant fee charging schools, that were not paid to other fee charging schools, has to be viewed in that wider context.
It was inevitable in the difficult financial circumstances that the education budget for 2009 could not be totally spared from the need to curtail expenditure but it is important to reiterate again that the Protestant Block Grant which in the current school year amounts to €6.25 million will continue to be available and the retention of this grant demonstrates the importance that I, and this Government, continue to attach to ensuring that students of the Protestant faith can attend schools that reflect their denominational ethos. Historically this payment covers capitation, tuition and boarding grants and is distributed through the Secondary Education Committee established by the Churches concerned.
I fully appreciate the concerns that were expressed to me about the needs of the dispersed minority population and the particular need to sustain schools in the Protestant tradition that are directly serving that dispersed population in particular areas of the country. In that regard I expressed my willingness at the meeting to respond positively to any proposals that might be made to my Department that would enable the available funding to be focused and adjusted to more effectively meet the twin objectives of access for individuals and sustaining the dispersed schools that they wish to attend. The Bishops indicated that they would reflect on how the funding I am continuing to make available might best be deployed to meet the needs of their schools.
Further meetings can be scheduled at any point to develop and build on what I believe was a useful and constructive discussion.
