Vol. 565 No. 2
1 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the delay in the payment of grants to primary schools; the grants which are due to be paid in 2003; when they will be paid; and if he has any plans to ensure uniformity in the payments of grants annually. [10470/03]
My Department pays annual grants to primary schools including capitation grants, minor works grants, grants under various schemes to tackle educational disadvantage, ancillary services grants, grants for special needs purposes, support teachers grant, school development planning grant, ICT grant, supervision grant, and non-English speaking grant. In addition, my Department has paid once-off curriculum materials grants to primary schools.
The Department is conscious of the need for funding to be provided to primary schools in an orderly manner and as early as possible in the school year concerned. Where possible, payment is made electronically direct to the individual school's bank account. However, where the amount of grant payable is dependent upon returns being submitted to and verified by my Department, payment can be delayed due to the non-return of the required data to my Department. I am not aware of any general delay in the payment of grants to primary schools. My Department is also working on a new financial management system which is expected to be up and running for the next school year. The new system will speed up the processing of payments which are not made directly to school bank accounts. The Department is also examining ways of reducing the number of separate payments to primary schools.
The minor works grant is usually paid to schools on the basis of a €3,800 grant plus a per capita payment. This year, only the per capita part of this has been paid to date, with the €3,800 being withheld. Will the Minister explain why this is the case? I know a review was to be carried out in the early part of the year but, given that today is 10 April and the school year ends in two months, it is not early in the school year from a primary school's point of view. Does the Minister think this is an opportune time to carry out the review? In light of the serious conditions in many primary schools, which we discussed in the House this week, will the Minister ensure payment of the grant now and perhaps carry out the review, that might affect next year's budget rather than this year's, in the summer months?
A leaflet on the ICT grant was sent to primary schools, outlining the grants for 2001 and 2002, and confirming that grants for 2003 would be at a similar level. Will the Minister confirm that the ICT grant for this year will be paid, because the only response my queries to the Department have elicited are "I do not know"? The PE grant was paid on 17 April last year. Will the Minister confirm whether that grant will be paid this year?
The Deputy is correct in say ing that the grant scheme for minor works is paid in two instalments of a lump sum of €3,809 and a capitation amount, the total of which amounts to €12.5 million. The first part has been paid and the second part is affected by the ongoing assessment. It depends what side of any assessment a school is on but, generally speaking, there is no such thing as an opportune time to review expenditure. The fact that the calendar year and the school year do not coincide always makes things difficult from a financial point of view. The review is continuing and when it is complete, which we hope will be in the early part of this school year, we will be in a position to pay the remainder of the grant to the schools.
The total ICT grants provided to primary schools in 2001 and 2002 amounted to approximately €32.3 million –€17.7 million in 2001 and €14.6 million in 2002. The capital allocation for this year is €6.2 million. There is a review of the current status of ICT within schools which needs to be completed before we embark on further expenditure in that area. All of these amounts and the review in relation to the minor works scheme were announced at the time of the Estimates. At that point, it was made clear to everyone that grants would be paid during the course of the school year.
I disagree that the position is clear because many schools are still unclear. The Minister is not leaving schools much room for planning. Is he aware that many schools are operating in the red and that some have borrowed against the minor works and ICT grants in the expectation that, as was written in black and white, the grants in 2003 would be at a similar level and that they are at a far lower level than previous years?
The situation is as I outlined to the House. The total amount of grants this year, as notified and clearly stated in the Estimates last November, is €6.2 million, so they cannot be paid at the same level as they were in 2001 and 2002.
