Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not underestimate the challenges schools face every day but I recognise also that ours is the third highest spending Department in government, which is indicative of the huge priority placed on education by the Government, at more than €10 billion. I acknowledge that last year, additional funding of €90 million was made available to schools from an energy point of view, while €81 million is being made available this year, of which €21 million will go into the core from a capitation point of view in budget 2024.

On the specific question of the moneys that were paid and spent during Covid, not one school is being asked to repay one penny it spent during Covid. This was additional money that recognised that additional demands were being placed on schools, whether in the area of hand sanitiser, personal protective equipment, PPE, or the enhanced minor works grant. Whatever it happened to be, not one penny of that has been requested to be returned. Nevertheless, where schools have money they did not spend under a Covid heading, that is a different issue. If they have unspent money, they are being requested to return it, not money they have spent and used.

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