Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join the Chairman in welcoming our guest speakers to the meeting. They represent the Church of Ireland Board of Education, the Catholic Primary School Management Association and the Department of Education and Skills. I asked for this item to be placed on the committee's agenda because when I visit schools in my constituency, I get feedback from boards of management, teachers and principals about the difficulties being faced by primary and secondary schools at the moment. I am sure other members of the committee have had similar experiences.

Over recent years, the pupil-teacher ratio has been changed, capitation grants have been reduced and the minor works grant has been abolished. In the last couple of budgets, the Minister has outlined that he has sought to protect the mainstream pupil-teacher ratio. That is not the case for smaller schools with one, two, three or four teachers, however. As has been outlined, the changes that are being made each year - further changes are expected in the coming year - are having an impact on such schools.

According to the evidence that has been presented today, half of Protestant schools come in under the 56 pupil threshold. It is quite concerning that the policies pursued by the Department over recent years will have a disproportionate effect on Protestant schools and consequently diminish the ability of people to continue to receive education with a Protestant ethos in their local areas.

I want to get feedback from all the speakers on a couple of key points, such as the impact of these changes on school finances and on the day-to-day running and operation of schools. In its presentation, the Catholic Primary School Management Association referred to research it commissioned last year and conducted by Amárach Market Research which concluded that 50% of schools were in debt and a further 21% were on the breadline. It was decided last year to remove the minor works grant, which was worth a minimum of €5,000 to every school. The grant was paid in the latter part of the year, so it would have been due to be paid in the coming months. As we head into the autumn and the funding cliff gets nearer, a real crisis will become more apparent in many of our primary schools. Last year, many schools managed to soften the impact of the loss of the grant by scrimping and scratching. I recently visited a school of 80 students that is having to raise funds from families to make up for the loss of the essential €7,000 it used to receive in minor works grant funding. In a school of 80 students, that €7,000 will have to be collected from 30 or 40 families - certainly less than 50 families. As we know, household budgets are coming under massive pressure as a result of cuts like the reduction in the back to school grant.