Vol. 518 No. 3
286 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on whether there is a serious imbalance in the funding his Department provides for voluntary secondary schools as against other schools serving the same sector; if he will provide a substantial increase in funding immediately to alleviate the serious crisis; when the report from the steering group on school funding will be made available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11384/00]
The report of the steering group on the funding of second level schools has been published and I have arranged for a copy to be forwarded to the Deputy.
With regard to funding of voluntary secondary schools, notwithstanding the many competing demands on budgetary resources, the level of support for voluntary secondary schools has been increased substantially in accordance with the Government's commitment to giving education a clear priority in the allocation of resources as set out in the policy document An Action Programme for the Millennium. The standard per capita grant payable to voluntary secondary schools has been increased to £184 from £177 last year with a further increase of £8 planned for this year. Assistance towards the provision of secretarial services in schools has been increased from £25 per pupil to £30 per pupil thereby increasing the maximum annual grant from £8,750 to £10,500 per eligible school. In addition, these schools have benefited under the IT 2000 initiative. Schools have welcomed these improvements. It is my intention to improve further the financial position of voluntary secondary schools to the extent that the availability of resources permits.
