Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 19 Nov 2003

Vol. 574 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Schools Funding.

Mr. Finneran

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ahern, to the House and thank him for taking this Adjournment matter. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, on his reforms and investment in the educational sector.

I want the Minister for Education and Science to address the anomaly and the cost factor that exists for insurance between the voluntary secondary school and the community or vocational school. Under current legislation, voluntary schools must meet their responsibility for insurance while those in the community or vocational sector have their insurance paid for by the State. That is a serious imposition on the voluntary school sector and I ask that the Minister examine it with a view to creating an even playing field between those who provide education at second level.

An example was provided by the umbrella body for voluntary secondary schools. Since 1999, a school of some 500 pupils has had its insurance costs increase from €24,000 to €35,000. I am aware that in smaller schools the costs have increased from approximately €6,000 to €14,000. In those situations we are talking about increases from 50% to 112%. That is not a cost that can be absorbed by the people in charge of these voluntary schools. If they do, it is at a cost to other services they provide at the school. Those cut backs have to be implemented in areas such as heating, lighting, essential repairs and other materials. Classroom supplies, such as paper, chalk and laboratory equipment must be cut back. It is a serious matter for voluntary schools. We appreciate and thank the religious orders who played an enormous role in this area and who ploughed a great deal of money into it. Listening to the public debate about their contribution, one would think they had a negative effect on the education system. However, I reject that and compliment them on what they have done over the years.

People in charge of schools in the voluntary sector must pay insurance costs from their budgets, unlike those in the vocational and community sector. It must be borne in mind that they get full insurance cover from the State. I was told today by a principal of a school in my constituency that his costs increased from €5,700 to €14,000 between 1999 and 2003. That is an enormous burden. He has asked, through the joint managerial body which represents voluntary and secondary schools of all denominations – we are not talking about particular religious denominations – for that issue to be considered. They still account for 60% of all post-primary pupils and play an important role in this area.

Secondary school management boards expect the Government to recognise the extraordinary efforts they continue to make by providing them with the same funding as other second level schools. They have three demands, but their main one is that the payment of insurance grants to all voluntary schools should be put on the same footing as other second level schools. That is the thrust of my argument.

Mr. M. Ahern

I thank Deputy Finneran for raising this matter. As he will be aware, the funding arrangements for our schools, including the arrangements made for insurance cover, have evolved in a manner that reflects the different traditions and structures of the voluntary secondary, comprehensive and community and VEC sectors. By its nature, this evolution has generated funding anomalies and structures that lack uniformity and cohesion.

As regards voluntary secondary schools, responsibility for obtaining insurance cover on school property and against public liability is a matter for the managerial authorities of the individual schools, which are privately owned. The onus for arranging insurance cover is on the relevant vocational education committee in the case of vocational schools and community colleges. As regards community and comprehensive schools, the State provides a general indemnity to the authorities of these schools in lieu of their taking out insurance cover against liabilities that may arise.

The Minister and his predecessor have already shown their commitment by the introduction of enhanced equalisation funding measures for voluntary secondary schools. In addition to the per capita grant of €25 which was introduced under the school services support initiative for second level schools in September 2000 and which now stands at €99 since January last, secondary schools have benefited from a further increase of €28, bringing the grant for such schools to €127 from January last. This per capita grant was in addition to a range of equalisation grants of up to €15,500 per school per annum that were also approved for voluntary secondary schools. For a school with 500 pupils, this amounts to additional equalisation funding of almost €30,000 per annum and overall additional support services funding of approximately €80,000 per annum.

A further measure of the continuing commitment of the Minister for Education and Science is his announcement in the context of the 2004 Estimates that the support services grant of €127 per pupil will be further increased in the case of voluntary secondary schools to €131, a per capita increase of €4. This increase is in addition to the increase the Minister also announced for 2004, which will bring the standard per capita grant to €274. A measure of the increase in overall funding for secondary schools is that, since 1997, a secondary school with 500 pupils will receive extra annual funding of up to €105,000 per annum and annual grants of up to €240,000, or €260,000 in the case of disadvantaged schools, towards general expenses and support services. Schools are afforded considerable flexibility in the use of these resources to cater for the needs of their pupils. This is, in general, a preferable approach to putting in place grants for specific initiatives.

Tackling the difficulties caused by high insurance premiums is also a clear priority for the Government and for my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. A key concern to which the Tánaiste is giving priority is the cost and availability of liability insurance. In that context, she has announced a comprehensive programme for the fundamental reform of the insurance market. The Government considers that these measures constitute a programme that is capable of delivering real reform and that reductions in insurance costs will translate into significant reductions in premiums.

The Minister is conscious of the concerns relating to insurance costs raised by the managerial authorities for voluntary secondary schools. He is committed to improving further the funding position of schools and to addressing the issue of equity raised by the voluntary secondary school sector. At a time of increased financial constraints, the recent announcement of further significant increases in the funding of voluntary secondary schools is a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to prioritise available resources to address the needs of schools.