Vol. 565 No. 2
58 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Science the reasons for his decision to review the annual grant given to schools on a devolved basis to carry out essential and urgent repairs; if his attention has been drawn to the comments of the General Secretary of the INTO, Mr. John Carr, describing it as a further cutback for primary education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10193/03]
The position regarding the grant scheme for minor works is set out in the 2003 school building programme which was published in January. The programme shows that €18.1 million has been provided for the payment of the full grant. The programme also identifies explicitly that there are two parts to the grant €12.5 million for payment of the standard grant of €3,809 to each school and €5.6 million for payment of the per capita element at €12.70 per pupil.
The published programme also made clear that an expenditure review of the scheme, involving inspections of up to 300 schools would be undertaken in the early part of the year. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the best use is being made of these funds by schools and to adjust the scheme in line with any recommendations that arise from the review. The review is about ensuring best practice and making the scheme as effective as possible. The published programme unambiguously states that the review is in the context of maintaining overall expenditure on the scheme at the same levels as in previous years.
