Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise a significant issue, which is the funding of DEIS band 1 schools. Over the past number of years, we have seen significant funding go into education. Obviously, the free schoolbooks scheme and the free school meals scheme have been important for parents and education. In some cases, they have been a significant anti-poverty measure. I remember the first year the free school books scheme was brought in, the Society of St. Vincent De Paul said it noticed a 20% reduction in calls for back to school supports.

The operating costs of the school remain the same, though. That is the issue I want to raise. I have been contacted by three different DEIS band 1 schools in our area. They are having difficulty balancing the books in terms of operating costs. It has always been the responsibility of the schools and patrons to manage their own finances and I do not take from that responsibility, but I have had a hands-on opportunity to look at the balance sheet of one of the local schools. In one school, there was €17,000 left in the account for between now and the end of the year. An insurance payment of more than €10,000 was required. There was a payment for gas and electricity and then there was a payment for cleaning staff. There was not enough to pay all of those outstanding bills. The schools in question have been dealing with the FSSU, which is the financial support unit in the Department. In fact, they have been doing it for more than a year.

While all schools would welcome increased capitation, there is an issue in schools that may previously have accommodated large numbers. In places like Tallaght, Finglas and many others, schools were often built for 700, 800, 900 or even 1,000 pupils. Unfortunately, in some cases they are operating at 15% or 20% of that capacity, so there are large campuses, but the capitation is now at a much reduced rate. The Department needs a bespoke tool for those schools. While capitation is an important mode of funding and ensures it follows the pupil, schools still have to fund the overall cost of their campuses. If that is not enough, then there needs to be a bespoke solution or we need to look at the long-term viability of the building. Maybe a new building over time on those campuses would be more desirable.

I urge the Minister of State to revert to the Minister of Education. I raised this yesterday with the Taoiseach under questions on promised legislation. The benefit of Topical Issues is that we can have more of a discussion about it. The Taoiseach recommended that there be a bespoke solution, and that is where the solution should lie. Principals have enough to do without worrying about cash flow. Some schools might have a little more cash flow because of a sale of land or whatever. Some schools will have more cash flow because they are in a more affluent area and are able to do fundraising. DEIS band 1 schools have a lot of challenges on their books. Some of this may be about shared support for schools, like a group communal insurance policy or a better insurance deal. Some of them are coming off three-year energy and gas deals and that is now having an impact because costs are increasing. In many cases, they have already gone for local solutions for cleaning contracts rather than using contract suppliers and so on. It is an issue that affects all schools across north Dublin and many schools on the southside. In big schools with smaller numbers, capitation is not working. We need to come with a bespoke solution.

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