Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. Under what subhead does the pay for school chaplains come? I think that is in programme A. The Minister may not have the figure to hand at the moment. I had difficulty getting the exact figure for last year. I know it was in excess of €9 million a number of years ago; the Minister may need to revert on that figure. I ask because, although I have no fixed view on the matter, I wonder if that figure would be warranted having regard to the cuts that have taken place - it could go towards SNAs, for example, but that is something we could discuss.

On the implementation of the action plan on bullying and schools patronage, I note from the research by DCU that 79% of teachers are aware of bullying in schools. It is clear that education is key to tackling this. It is important that we promote an awareness of bullying and how to deal with it and how to tackle it in schools. Is the Minister seeking to increase the allocation for the coming years for that important issue?

Concerning higher education, what is the Minister's view on the present funding arrangements, in particular on student loans programmes as operated elsewhere as an alternative funding method?