Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the members for the opportunity to speak to them today and for the committee's consideration of my Department's Revised Estimate. I am accompanied by the Minister of State, who has responsibility for special education, and by officials from my Department. I am conscious that I have very limited time in which to deliver my opening statement so I will just give a brief overview of the Revised Estimates for my Department for 2021.

These Revised Estimates set out the approved allocations for the Department, including funding for all of the services normally provided or supported by it. They also include substantial additional funding to meet costs associated with the reopening of schools and sustaining teaching and learning as part of the Covid-19 response covering the period to the end of the current school year. The Revised Estimates also reflect the completion of the transfer of functions from the Department of Education to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the transfer into my Department of funding from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in respect of certain education functions being performed by Tusla.

The Revised Estimate for Vote 26 provides for a net allocation of €8.644 billion, representing a gross allocation of €8.961 billion reduced by appropriations-in-aid of some €300 million. This represents an increase in gross expenditure of some €250 million, or 3%, over the 2020 allocation. I made the point previously to the committee that a significant proportion of the funding allocated to Vote 26 will be expended on gross pay and pensions, with sums amounting to over €7 billion included in the Vote for these purposes. This represents some 80% of the expenditure allocation. Some 90,600 public servants and 43,200 public service pensioners are paid out of these funds. Other significant expenditure areas include capital infrastructure, school transport, capitation grants to schools and grants to other organisations and agencies.

Budget 2021 included a number of measures relevant to the education system. It included additional funding to enable the total number of non-Covid-related teaching posts to rise by 1,065 by the end of this year. Of these posts, a net 268 will derive from forecast demographics. Four hundred and three additional teachers will be working with children with special needs and there will be 394 new teaching posts created at primary level to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio and class sizes. This includes a new measure to assist schools to retain teachers while dealing with Covid-19 requirements.

The budget also included initiatives in the area of social inclusion, with additional funding being provided to reduce by one point the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, senior schools urban band-1 staffing schedule, and an additional €2 million for Gaeltacht placement grants and €1 million for the continued implementation of the Gaeltacht education policy. An additional €3.5 million has been provided to continue investment in the Creative Ireland and Music Generation programmes.

Special education continues to be a priority. Almost 1,000 additional special needs assistant, SNA, posts will be allocated, bringing the total number of SNAs in our schools to over 18,000 in 2021. This will support the rolling out of the new school inclusion model, including a new allocation methodology for mainstream schools in the 2021 school year, which will ensure students with additional needs get the right supports at the right time, as well as supporting the new special needs class places.

An additional 145 special education teacher posts will be provided for while 235 new teachers will be recruited to work in special classes in our schools, with another 23 teachers hired for special schools. This investment in additional teaching posts will ensure that more than 1,200 new places in special classes will be provided.

The 2021 investment includes a capital allocation for new and more energy-efficient school buildings, with a €740 million budget for 2021 under Project Ireland 2040. This funding will sustain the rolling out of projects, including some 140 projects under the large-scale and additional accommodation schemes whose construction activity is due to commence before July 2021. These projects will add significant additional capacity to the school system to manage in the Covid environment and to cater for increased demographics.

I will conclude with a few words on Covid. The Government's roadmap for the full reopening of schools, approved in July 2020, included a significant package of funding to sustain school reopening, for the replacement of teachers and non-teaching staff unable to attend for work due to Covid-19, additional release days for principals and deputy principals, and enhanced cleaning regimes, personal protective equipment, PPE, and well-being supports. The total amount allocated for the 2020-2021 school year is €639 million. Of that, €331 million related to 2020 and comprised a capital allocation of €180 million and €151 million in current funding. The balance of that allocation, amounting to some €308 million, is included in these Estimates. This funding is, as before, available to meet substitution and supervision, cleaning, sanitiser, PPE and school transport costs. No Covid-related capital allocation has been included in these Estimates. There was very significant Covid-related capital expenditure in 2020, much of it brought forward. As with other Covid-19 related spending, funding for the 2021-2022 school year will be reviewed in line with the latest public health advice available and previous Covid-19 costs. In this regard, a central contingency reserve was allocated in the 2021 budget by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which includes funds specifically earmarked for schools for the remainder of 2021, that is, for the period from August to December.

The committee will appreciate that the position on Covid remains fluid. The education sector is in the process of reopening and I expect that all schools will be open again on 5 April. The leaving certificate examinations will take place in June and a system of accredited grades will be available. A very significant allocation of funding has been made in these Estimates to sustain reopening and to ensure the welfare of staff and students. I trust that this brief overview has been of assistance to the committee. I am happy to discuss these issues in more detail. I commend the Revised Estimate for 2021 to the committee.