Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this on behalf of the students and parents of Scoil Dairbhre. That is a very unusual circumstance. It is one that certainly I have not heard of. Obviously, I am not in the Department of education. Perhaps the Minister has heard of such a case, but it is extraordinary. I certainly would have said it is not the norm around Ireland for parents to be asked by the school to bring in toilet rolls and other essential supplies.

In this instance, officials from the Department have made contact with the school, and the school has been referred to the financial services support unit, FSSU, which is a dedicated support service for schools funded by the Department of Education and Youth. This is the usual practice where any school presents as being in difficulty. The FSSU will now work with the school directly to assist it in resolving the financial difficulty.

Schools in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact the Department of Education and Youth for advice and support. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to schools, which may include an advance in capitation grant funding or other measures.

Any school with financial concerns is then encouraged to engage directly with the FSSU and the school’s patron in order to work to address the financial challenges at the school.

The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capitagrants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff.

The Department has secured €39 million in budget 2026 towards increased capitation funding for primary, post-primary and special schools to provide additional financial support towards their running costs. This will see an increase in the standard capitation rates paid to schools of €50 per pupil for primary schools from €224 to €274 and of €20 per student for post-primary schools from €386 to €406. This will also allow for an increase of €20 in capitation rates for urban band 1 DEIS primary schools, increasing the mainstream pupil rate in these schools to €294. The increased capitation rates will also see special schools now receive the same rates of capitation for young people aged 12 and over, as their peers in mainstream post-primary schools.

The financial support service unit funded by the Department is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters, including budgeting and cash flow management. The contact details for the FSSU can be found on www.fssu.ie There was an acknowledgment in this budget that many schools needed an increase in the capitation grant for day-to-day running. Many schools were reaching out and highlighting that it was a struggle. The instance the Deputy has referenced is highly unusual where parents have been asked to bring in those types of essential materials. I would have thought students' personal hygiene would have been a basic provision that schools would be making. I understand the FSSU in the Department has been in touch. The capitation rates have been increased in this budget and I hope that will relieve some of the pressure on many primary schools in particular. I again thank the Deputy for raising the matter.

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