Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have been speaking to teachers about capitation grants, which are based on the number of students in a school. Money is being spent on the capital programme and we are building new schools and replacing prefabs with extensions. Given two schools in the same location, one may be housed in an 80-year-old building, which takes much more to heat and to run and is not energy-efficient, while the other may be very modern and may not cost as much to operate in terms of heating and overheads. However, the capitation payment is based on the number of students. Has any consideration been given to, or any report produced on, capitation grants and how the Department allocates them? One suggestion is that part of it could be based on student numbers, but consideration should also be given to the type of school, its age and its energy efficiency. If it costs more to run a particular school because of its age, it makes more sense that the amount the school gets in capitation grants is greater than that given to a modern and up-to-date energy-efficient school that does not cost as much. This is particularly the case given that the minor works grant and the summer works grant are being discontinued. It is a very general question but I wonder whether research has been done by the Department into how the capitation grants system is implemented.