Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On a somewhat related point in regard to the minor works grant allocation, which I was delighted to see the Minister of State announce today, I notice that in 2015 it was announced on 5 November, last year it was announced on 17 November, this year it has been announced in December and it is indicated to be announced next in January 2019. This is very frustrating for schools and many schools have contacted me. One, a developing school, is delighted to have a brand new premises but it is spending 70% of its capitation on heating the school because, as a developing school, it gets the same funding as a small school in rural Ireland. The principal found the school was tapping into the money for books for next year to pay for salaries for cleaning and for heating. Are there any plans to announce the allocation sooner? I am a bit alarmed to see January 2019 has been indicated for the next announcement, which means the principal must face into next September still not knowing the allocation, which is quite difficult for a small developing school.