Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 November 2012
128. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he intends to review the practice of primary schools only submitting accounts to his Department on request; if he will now make it madatory to reduce the risk of misappropriation of funds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50560/12]
View answer129. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools that have been requested to submit their annual accounts to his Department for the year 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012, if he will provide this information in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50561/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 129 together.
Every primary school is, in accordance with section 18 of the Education Act 1998, required to keep all proper and usual accounts and records of all monies received by it or expenditure of such monies incurred by it and must ensure that in each year all such accounts are properly audited or certified in accordance with best accounting practice. The Act further requires that such accounts shall be made available by the school for inspection by the Minister and by parents of students in the school, in so far as those accounts relate to monies provided in accordance with Section 12 of the Act.
The Boards of Management of all primary schools are also required to comply with the provisions of my Department's "The Constitution of Boards and Rules of Procedure 2011" booklet. This booklet sets out very clearly the specific responsibilities and duties of the Board in relation to school finances, accounting practice and the role and duties of the treasurer appointed by the Board. Among the specific control measures to safeguard against fraud or misappropriation of school funds, the booklet requires that:-
- All expenditure by or on behalf of the Board of Management must be approved by the Board;
- The Board must satisfy itself that proper internal controls are in place for all financial transactions;
- The Treasurer must retain vouchers of expenditure for inspection and audit by the school's accountant and by officials of the Department;
- The Treasurer must present at each Board meeting an up-to-date statement of the school accounts giving details of income and expenditure since the previous meeting;
- A total account of the Board's income and expenditure must be prepared at the end of each school year and must be properly audited or certified in accordance with best accounting practice. This account should be made available for inspection to the school community including parents, the Patron, Trustees and the Minister.
During the periods referred to by the Deputy, my Department has, on occasion and for various purposes, sought school accounts from specific primary schools. However, the records of this process are not recorded centrally within my Department so it is not possible to provide the type of detail requested by the Deputy. I have no plans to make the type of changes suggested by the Deputy nor does my Department have capacity for detailed analysis of school accounts for every school. I believe that it is better that the main focus of accountability for how primary schools operate and use their resources is dealt with at local school level via the Board of Management and local school community.
