Charlie McConalogue
Question:4. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out her views on a permanent restoration of the minor works grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38281/14]
View answerWednesday, 8 October 2014
Questions (4)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
What is the Minister's views on the permanent restoration of the minor works scheme given its importance to every primary school in the country?
At the publication in November 2011 of the Government's medium-term infrastructure and capital investment framework, the emphasis in the education sector was focused on major school projects and smaller projects devolved to schools to meet demographic demands. Given the requirement to meet the need for additional school places over the years 2012 to 2016, it was deemed unlikely that minor works grant funding would be available during that period. However, the grant issued to schools in November 2011 for the 2011-12 school year and last November for the 2013-14 school year. The advice that accompanied the grant to schools last November made it clear that the grant will only be paid in future years as funding permits. I cannot give any commitment to restore the payment on an annual basis. As the Deputy is aware, we are in a pre-budgetary situation and discussions are ongoing. I therefore cannot give Deputy McConalogue a definite decision one way or the other at this stage.
Anyone involved in a primary school who has been listening to the Minister's answer will be disappointed that she has not given any assurances in that respect. I hope when it comes to the crunch in the budget on 14 October there will some good news for them in respect of the grant.
I was hoping for a response from the Minister to indicate she is aware of the importance of the grant to schools. We are well aware of the financial situation the country is in and the difficulties in terms of budgets. Perhaps the Minister could indicate an awareness of the importance of this payment to the budgets of schools. It is worth a minimum of €5,500 to every school in the country. The grant could be worth €8,000 or €9,000 to a three-teacher school with 80 pupils. As a result of the grant not being paid, schools have had to ask for this money from the community and parents. This has led to a major increase for financially strapped parents in the cost of sending their children to school. The Government is overseeing a situation where far more financial pressure is put on these parents as a result.
Will the Minister indicate whether she comprehends the importance of this? During the coming week as she negotiates with the Minister for Finance, she should ensure the restoration of the grant to national schools is at the top of her priority list.
I realise how valuable this grant is to schools. As Deputy McConalogue noted, the basic grant is €5,500 per school. There is €1,850 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs person. The grant is useful to schools for practical purposes like physical infrastructure such as items of furniture and equipment, including information technology equipment.
Decisions have been made over the years in situations where it has not been possible to pay the grant, and these decisions have been very difficult. As Deputy McConalogue is aware, it was paid last year. I assure the Deputy that I recognise the value of the grant to all schools. One benefit is that there is a basic grant for all schools which increases on the basis of the number of mainstream students and the number of special needs pupils. I recognise the need, but I am not in a position today to indicate whether we will be able to pay it in the next school year.
I understand that the Minister is not in a position today to give a commitment on the matter. However, I draw her attention to the record of her Government in respect of payment of the grant. Of the three budgets the Government has introduced, the minor works grant was paid in only one, last year's budget. The Minister outlined the rates. This has left a huge hole in the budget of every primary school in the country. The burden has fallen back on cash-strapped families. Let us consider this with the fact the summer works scheme was not paid for two of the past three years and that each of these three years saw reductions in capitation allocations to schools. Let us consider also the actions of the Minister's Cabinet colleague and now party leader, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, in halving the back-to-school payment for secondary school students and cutting by one third the back-to-school payment for primary school students. All in all, the Government has taken in excess of €100 million per year from supports to schools and families of schoolchildren. This funding must be raised by families who are among the most hard-pressed in the country in recent years. This is an unacceptable increase for families in the cost of sending children to school. I emphasise the importance of trying to relieve that pressure and the need to change the approach by delivering a decision in the budget next week which will see that payment given to every school in the coming year.
As the Deputy well knows, difficult decisions have had to be made in all Departments in recent years because of the economic collapse and specific agreements on the level of cuts each Department has had to take. One of the priorities decided upon in the Department of Education and Skills was that the pupil-teacher ratio would be protected. That meant difficult decisions had to be made. As I have indicated, I recognise how valuable this grant is to schools. I will bear that in mind in terms of the discussions we will be having in the coming days.