Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I assume the Deputy is referring to the withdrawal of certain funding from minority faith schools with effect from 1 January 2009, which realised an annual saving of €2.8 million to the Exchequer. The grant was withdrawn due to real concerns about the constitutionality of making it available to fee-charging schools of one ethos and not to those of another.

As these schools no longer receive funding, the question of a further cut does not arise. The Deputy will appreciate that in advance of any decisions by the Government in the context of the upcoming budget, as he mentioned, he does not expect to nor am I at liberty to speculate on measures that may be announced.

There are 26 distinctively Protestant schools and one Jewish school. Of these schools, the Jewish school and 20 of the Protestant schools charge fees. Many of the schools have a boarding facility, reflecting the dispersed nature of the communities across the country. The six Protestant schools within the free education scheme receive the same funding as all other schools within the free education system.

This Government recognises the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant or reformed church background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. I remind the Deputy that the Constitution specifically states that the State shall not discriminate against one religion in favour of another.

With regard to the fee-charging Protestant schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is paid to the Secondary Education Committee, an organisation run by the churches involved in running the schools. The Secondary Education Committee then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of boarding fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding amounts to €6.5 million annually. Arrangements are in place for the Jewish school also.

There are no changes proposed in respect of the Protestant block grant. Teachers in all fee-charging schools are paid by the State. This arrangement pre-dated the introduction of free education arrangements and has existed since the foundation of the State and predates the foundation of the State. The estimated cost of these posts in 2011 is of the order of €100 million. I am already on record as saying that this is not a simple matter as these arrangements, which are historic and of long standing, impact upon a substantial number of schools which cater for religious minorities.

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