I take the Deputy's reference to accommodation and other expenses as being the travel and subsistence costs incurred by inspectors while carrying out whole-school evaluations and subject inspections.
The travel and subsistence costs associated with conducting whole-school evaluations and subject inspections are not recorded separately from the total travel and subsistence costs associated with the entire work programme of the Inspectorate division of my Department. In that context it should be noted that, in addition to whole-school evaluations and subject inspections, Inspectors are involved in a wide range of other work such as programme evaluations, the preparation of composite and thematic evaluation reports on aspects of educational provision in schools, inspection of primary teachers on probation and participation in appeal boards established under Section 29 of the Education Act. Inspectors also provide advice on an on-going basis to various sections within the Department on policy issues including teacher education, special education, and qualifications, curriculum and assessment policy.
While it is not possible to provide the Deputy with specific travel and subsistence costs in respect of whole-school evaluations and subject inspections, I can provide details of the total travel and subsistence expenses associated with the complete work programme of the Inspectorate division, for each year since 2004, as set out below
Year
|
€
|
2004
|
1,429,559.33
|
2005
|
1,378,130.38
|
2006
|
1,576,419.31
|
2007
|
1,693,653.27
|
2008
|
1,558,952.27
|
The total budget allocation for my Department in 2008 was €9.3 billion. The gross travel and subsistence expenses for the Inspectorate in 2008 amounted to €1,558,952. Therefore, the proportion of the Department's total budget which was allocated to cover the travel and subsistence expenses incurred in respect of the entire work programme of the Inspectorate in 2008 was 0.0168%.