Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to speak today and for the committee’s consideration of my Department’s Estimates allocation for 2025. I am accompanied today by my officials and I thank them for attending.

These Estimates set out the allocations for the Department of Education and Youth under Vote 26. This includes funding for all of the services normally provided by my Department, along with the responsibility for certain youth-related services that, as colleagues will know, transferred to this Vote just one month ago. Allocations are also included to fund measures to address some of the impacts on the education sector’s response to the Ukraine crisis. A significant capital allocation is also included.

The Revised Estimate for Vote 26 provides for a net allocation of €11.799 billion. This is a gross allocation of €12.232 billion reduced by appropriations-in-aid of some €433 million. The gross allocation has increased by €1.4 billion on the original 2024 allocations. Of this increase, some €422 million relates to increases in public sector pay and pension rates. My Department overall is allocated some €9.2 billion on pay and pensions. This represents some 75% of the expenditure allocation. Over 110,000 public servants and 49,000 public service pensioners are paid out of these funds. Other significant expenditure areas include capital infrastructure for school buildings, school transport, capitation grants to schools and grants to other organisations and agencies.

In budget 2025, a significant allocation was secured for primary, post-primary and special needs education for the 2025-26 school year, along with funding for youth education-related services. This included important measures, such as: the expansion of the provision of free schoolbooks and classroom resources to all pupils to now include senior cycle and transition year pupils at post-primary level, and all will be included for this September; securing further increases in the capitation funding available for the day-to-day running costs of our schools; continued investment in school transport; an additional 2,368 SNA and special educational teachers in classrooms, and the continued provision of the enhanced summer programme; provision for actions to assist teacher supply and middle management supports in schools; funding for mobile phone storage solutions so students get a mental break from their phones during the school day; an increase in capital funding to allow for the continued delivery of the school building programme and to progress over 300 school building projects that are currently under construction, with the majority due to be completed during 2025 and 2026; and increased investment for youth services projects by over 9% to €90 million to support young people to develop the necessary skills and competencies to reach their full potential.

The budget also provides important additional funding for curricular and assessment reforms to progress our plans for senior cycle redevelopment and the primary curriculum framework, which are rooted in the delivery of a modern, inclusive education system that puts the student at the centre of the learning process. Through reform of our curriculum, I want to ensure we can fully equip students with the skills and competencies they need to succeed in what is a rapidly changing world.

The expansion of the provision of free schoolbooks and classroom resources to all pupils in schools under the free education scheme for the upcoming school year of 2025-26 will benefit almost 950,000 pupils. This is an important further step in providing support to households in meeting cost-of-living pressures.

Extra funding is also being provided to primary and post-primary schools to deal with the challenges they face in meeting day-to-day running costs. A total of €30 million in full-year costs is being provided for a permanent restoration of funding for the running costs of schools, bringing the basic rate of capitation to €224 per student in primary schools and to €386 in post-primary schools. Over the last two budgets, this has resulted in a 22% increase in the level of capitation rates paid to schools and, of course, we want to do more.

The 2025 funding allocation makes the biggest-ever commitment to students with special educational needs and their families. We are building on the progress already made on additional classes, teachers and supports, with an additional 768 special education teachers and 1,600 SNAs to support children across the mainstream, special classes and special schools. This brings the total number of SNAs working in our schools to 23,000, which is the highest ever number allocated to our education system, and it will be slightly higher by the end of the year. This is in recognition of the support needs of children across all settings. In total, there will be over 44,000 dedicated staff to support children with special educational needs in our schools.

The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and I have secured Government agreement to establish the education therapy service. Funding is being provided and the National Council for Special Education will commence work with an aim to provide 90 therapists to work in up to 45 special schools in the next school year. I am proud that we are allocating such significant investment in our education system, which allows us to reduce costs for families, tackle disadvantage and support the achievement and needs of all our students.

There is ring-fenced funding of €141 million allocated in 2025 to meet the costs of the education sector’s response to the crisis in Ukraine. This provides for the cost of additional teachers and other supports across the education sector. Our continued response to the Ukrainian crisis will mainly be based on the number of additional pupils who have entered our education system in the last three years, currently at some 17,500 pupils, and the number that will enter and remain in the system during the course of 2025.

Cost-of-living funding of €120 million was agreed as part of budget 2025. This was paid out in advance in late 2024 and, therefore, is additional to the funding provided in the 2025 Estimates allocation.

This is to allow for financial supports to meet the additional running costs of schools and the roll-out of the primary curriculum framework, the continuation of reduced school transport fees and a waiver of State examination entry fees.

Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector is receiving over €6 billion in capital investment over the period 2021 to 2025. This significant investment is enabling us to deliver high quality building projects, with a real focus on sustainability, for school communities across Ireland, in particular, a focus on establishing and developing SEN. Capital planning and budgeting is undertaken on a multi-annual basis.

The allocation of €1.6 billion for 2025 will support the continued progression of over 300 building projects that are currently at construction. The majority of these projects, as I have mentioned, are due to be completed in 2025 and 2026. This includes over 40 new school buildings, some of which are being delivered in phases. It also provides for additional places in special class and special school settings for pupils with special educational needs.

That is just a flavour of the issues that are reflected in these Estimates. I hope it has been of assistance to the committee to start us off but I am happy to address any queries on any part of the budget that members may have.