In December 2011 I announced that an analysis of fee income in the 55 fee charging schools would be carried out. This was in order to inform future policy decisions about the nature and extent of Exchequer funding provided to fee charging schools.
The report published in January 2013 is an analysis of the funding position of the 55 schools which charge fees; it is not an audit. It shows the funds available to these schools through charging fees, which are not available to secondary schools in the Free Scheme.
The Report shows that fee charging schools have a discretionary income of €81.3 million that would not be available to similar sized schools (i.e. size as determined by enrolment) in the free scheme.
The Report is available at http://www.education.ie//en/Publications/Education-Reports/Fee-Paying-Schools-Analysis-of-Fee-Income.pdf.