Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy should note that, as set out in the expenditure report I circulated on budget day, the underlying increase in gross funded current expenditure is, in fact, €170 million. Excluding Lansdowne Road agreement related costs of €43 million, the increase in the allocation for the Department of Education and Skills is more than five times the figure mentioned in the Deputy's question. This reflects the fact that in estimating the year-on-year change in educational expenditure between this year and next account needs to be taken of the non-recurrence next year of a 2015 cash cost of €127 million in relation to an accrual in respect of pay and pensions. This is set out in the documentation.

The expenditure report for next year sets out that an additional €24 million, as the Deputy rightly said, has been allocated to new measures. In specific terms, the budgetary and Estimates decisions will provide for an additional 2,260 teaching posts. These include 810 extra teachers to meet demographic pressures, 300 extra teachers to reduce the staffing schedule in primary schools from 28:1 to 27:1; 550 extra teachers to reduce the staffing schedule in secondary schools from 19:1 to 18.7:1; and 600 extra resource teachers for special needs education.

Against the backdrop of the available fiscal space, the share allocated to expenditure increases and spending pressures in other areas, the additional funding resources allocated to education represent a significant commitment by the Government to the development and improvement of the education sector. This must by allied with the significant capital announcement of almost €3 billion made by the Minister for Education and Skills during the week.

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