Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be aware of the many pressing demands in education which my predecessor and his predecessors, including Ruairí Quinn, have had to consider in recent years. Important changes have been made. Provision for children with special educational needs has been resourced and reformed, junior cycle reform has been rolled out, school leadership has been strengthened, primary class sizes have been reduced, guidance teachers have been restored, provision has been made for extra students at all levels and provision has been made for new skills needs in apprenticeships, traineeships and higher education. I fully recognise the need to improve capitation funding for schools. I was pleased that my predecessor, Deputy Bruton, was able to provide for a 5% increase in capitation funding for primary and post-primary schools. This will apply from the start of the 2019-20 school year. I must be prudent in the context of ongoing budgetary pressures. As it is not possible to do everything I would like to do in the education sector in one year, especially in the light of increasing enrolments, I have to prioritise. To answer the Deputy's question in as black-and-white a manner as possible, I intend to seek funding for further capitation increases in future budgets.

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