Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I tried this morning to have the Dáil adjourned to have this matter discussed. While it was not agreed to do so, I appreciate the opportunity to raise it on the Adjournment. The budget measure cutting school services grants has the most serious implications not only for the children it will affect directly but for virtually all Protestant faith schools, some of which may have to close, and, more seriously, for the future of the Protestant community. I do not exaggerate in making that statement.

The support services grant withdrawn by the current Government was the direct result of a formal agreement between the former Minister for Education, Mr. Donogh O'Malley, and Church of Ireland bishops representing all Protestant faith schools. The agreement was made prior to the introduction of free education in the 1960s. This special grant was in recognition of the fact that the State could not provide appropriate education to Protestant faith children because such children were few in number and the Protestant community was dispersed. Existing schools needed to be boarding schools for the same reasons and could not participate in the free education scheme introduced by the then Minister. Until the most recent budget, this agreement had been honoured by successive Governments through the decades.

The agreement copper-fastened an understanding, dating back to the foundation of the State, that the new State would always respect and facilitate the education of the minority Protestant communities. For the Minister to refer to this agreement now as a mere anomaly is hurtful and insulting and does not reflect the provenance of the agreement nor the ongoing need for it.

The Minister may be of the view that this grant is somehow a subsidy to the children of the former landed gentry. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sum involved is small — a mere €2.8 million annually — and is administered by the secondary education committee on behalf of all Protestant faith schools. It is used exclusively to allow disadvantaged children attend a school with an ethos appropriate to their faith. As the majority of Protestant faith schools are fee-paying, in effect the grant is used to provide a subsidy to families unable to pay the higher fees inevitably associated with small schools and boarding schools. Most of them are boarding schools.

The implications of losing the grant are clear. Disadvantaged children will not be able to attend the school of their parents' choice and these schools will, in many cases, simply become untenable and ultimately have to close, with all the consequences that has for the long tradition of Protestantism on this island. Many of these schools have been in existence for hundreds of years. I am sure the Minister, although he is now in China, does not want to go down in history as the one who closed them.

Protestant faith schools are facing all of the same cuts as other schools as a result of the budget. On top of this they are being further penalised by the unilateral, arbitrary and utterly ill-conceived withdrawal of this longstanding grant. Given the history of our island and the recognition of that history and tradition as regards how schools and education have been funded and delivered since the foundation of the State, this move is high handed, insulting and does not reflect the wishes of either the majority or the minority.

I cannot believe the Minister, in referring to this grant as an "anomaly", had been briefed on either its provenance or purpose. I believe it might have been foisted on him by a Department in search of easy targets to cut. However, he now knows its history and I ask that this cut be reversed immediately. At €2.8 million it is really a paltry sum in the context of the overall budget and certainly the saving does not justify the offence and damage this will cause to the minority community.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to be given the opportunity, on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, to clarify the position in relation to the withdrawal of certain grants from Protestant fee-paying schools.

The statement by the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, on the budget made it clear that the Protestant block grant remains in place. For that reason, the Minister was surprised by the comments attributed to the Archbishop of Dublin concerning the agreement referred to by the Deputy. In addition to the block grant, Protestant fee-paying schools were paid a range of support services grants that the Catholic fee-paying schools did not receive. These grants were not available at the time of the agreement with the representatives of the Protestant faith schools and therefore the Minister is not breaking any formal agreement. The purpose of these grants was not to offset fees for disadvantaged Protestant students. It is estimated that savings of €2.8 million will accrue as a result of the withdrawal of these grants from the Protestant fee-paying schools in 2009.

There are 56 fee-charging second level schools in the State, of which 21 are Protestant, two inter-denominational, one Jewish, and the balance of 32 are Catholic. The Deputy has expressed concern regarding the effect the withdrawal of the support services grant will have on access by disadvantaged students of the Protestant faith to schools reflecting the Protestant ethos. The Minister wishes to re-emphasise that there are no changes proposed in respect of the Protestant block grant. Protestant fee-paying schools receive, and will continue to receive, the Protestant block grant, which in the current school year amounts to €6.25 million. This payment covers capitation, tuition and boarding grants.

The grant is distributed by the Secondary Education Committee among needier Protestant children. Applications are made by parents to the Central Protestant Churches Authority, which, on the basis of a means test, distributes the funds to individual schools on the basis of pupil needs. The retention of this grant demonstrates the importance the Minister for Education, and this Government, continue to attach to ensuring that students of the Protestant faith can attend schools that reflect their denominational ethos.

The decision to remove these grants came against the backdrop of a difficult international economic situation. It was inevitable in these circumstances that the education budget for 2009 should include a number of measures that will involve curtailing expenditure. However, the Minister cannot agree with the Deputy's assertion that their removal will affect access by disadvantaged Protestant students to fee-paying schools, as this access remains protected through the Protestant block grant.

Once again I want to thank the Deputy for providing me with the opportunity to address the House on this matter and to outline the current position.