Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a final comment, and while I appreciate what the Minister is saying, all I am saying is that this is an extra cost for small schools, particularly in rural Ireland, that may have two or three teachers. The Minister said it already. They receive a capitation grant of €6,000. A proper audit costs a minimum of €1,200. That is 20% of the €6,000. There is a qualified accountant on the board of this school who is willing to do the books free of charge and submit them to the Department. Could that not be considered? This is not a fly-by-night auditor. I agree with the Minister on accountability. Everything must be accounted for and money has to be well spent. However in this case a school could save a cost of €1,200 just to get a stamp on a request. There is already an accountant doing voluntary work who is willing to send it in. Could some system be put in place to make use of this? Maybe the Department could have an audit every five years to check on these accounts. No one is talking about deviousness with money or anything like that. This is about saving money for local schools that are under pressure.

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