Brian Leddin
Question:391. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Education if she will adjust the ancillary grant at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43196/24]
View answerTuesday, 22 October 2024
Questions (391)
Written answers
My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the Ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities, except for cases where a secretary is now paid from my Department’s payroll as per Circular 0036/2022.
The current standard rate of Capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per student in post-primary schools.
Primary schools with fewer than 60 pupils are paid the Capitation and the Ancillary grants on the basis of having 60 pupils. At post-primary level, schools with fewer than 200 students receive ancillary-related grants on the basis of having 200 students.
As part of the capitation package in Budget 2025 I am pleased to have secured over €30 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. This represents an increase of circa 12% on current standard rates and enhanced rates. This increase is on top of the circa 9.2% increase from last year’s budget. This will bring the standard rate of Capitation grant to the level of €224 per pupil in primary schools and €386 per student in post-primary schools from September 2025. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils.
In addition to these grants, €45 million in cost of living supports will issue in 2024, to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme. This additional funding announced in Budget 2025 is designed to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity. Schools should also ensure that they are availing of the available OGP procurement frameworks and getting best value for money for all school expenditure.
As the Deputy may be aware, following the acceptance by Fórsa of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement in respect of salaries and various leave entitlements for grant-funded school secretaries, those secretaries who accepted the terms of this agreement were placed on a payroll operated by my Department from September 2023. Therefore, ancillary related grant funding has been revised to reflect the fact that schools are no longer paying these salaries directly.
The arrangements for Term 1 of the 2024/25 school year will be based on reducing grants by the value of the salary schools paid to grant-funded secretaries prior to their acceptance of the new terms and conditions. Schools provided my Department with these details and this information is now being used to reduce the ancillary-related grant funding. The 4 month ancillary-related grant funding due in term 1 will be paid as soon as possible in the first term of the 2024/25 school year.
Correspondence issued to all schools on 20th December 2023 providing details of these arrangements for the period September to December 2023. Further correspondence issued on 26th April 2024 setting out the position for the period January to August 2024.
In the 2023/24 school year, schools have been paid the usual ancillary/SSSF grant amount, minus the amount that schools previously paid to grant-funded secretaries prior to their acceptance of the new terms and conditions. Schools should be in no way disadvantaged by this as the grant is reduced only by the amount they previously paid to their secretaries.
Schools have been advised that the ancillary/SSSF grant funding is currently under review to identify a method of standardising the grant for the longer term where school secretaries have moved over to a Department-operated payroll.
Officials from my Department are currently reviewing this school’s ancillary grant and will contact the school directly in due course.
The Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU), funded by my Department, is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters, including budgeting and cash flow management. Contact details for FSSU can be found on www.fssu.ie.