Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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37. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he remains satisfied regarding the adequacy of the education budget to meet in full the targets set by his Department for the current year, including the provision of special needs teachers, SNAs, the school building programme and school transport; the extent to which any particular areas have been identified as being likely to come under pressure in the course of the current year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1912/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This question seeks to ascertain the extent to which his Department's budget is adequate to meet all likely requirements in the course of the current year, including special needs teaching, SNAs and places for children with autism.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The budgetary increase of €465 million which I secured for my Department in budget 2017 will support implementation of my Department’s goals, set out in the action plan for education. The increased allocation will mean more classroom and resource teachers, more special needs assistants, continued restoration of guidance posts, increases in new entrant teacher pay resulting from agreements with the TUI and INTO, continued progress on curricular reform, support for school leadership, implementation of the forthcoming action plan for disadvantaged schools, an increased allocation for school transport and provision for the first significant investment in higher education in a number of years.

My Department closely monitors all expenditure on an ongoing basis. It is too early in the year to identify definitively any significant budgetary pressures, which typically become manifest in the last quarter of the year following the start of the new academic year. This results from demographic and other demand pressures and the impact of retirements on the superannuation allocation. Funding for school capital was largely determined under the capital investment plan published in September 2015 and the 2017 allocation was confirmed in the most recent budget.

My Department plans to spend in excess of €400 million on the construction of large-scale projects and on the additional accommodation scheme. While my Department continues in the first instance to ensure sufficient school places within the sector, it is intended at the mid-term capital review to seek a higher level of funding to address, in particular, replacement and refurbishment school projects.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To what extent is the Minister satisfied that he can cater for the pressure points that usually occur in the course of the budget? What discussions has he and his Department had with the various school authorities at primary and secondary level in respect of special needs children, including the provision of special schools?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Each year a fresh assessment will be made of the needs of children coming into a school under various headings such school allocations, the PTR, special needs and so on. My Department does its best to anticipate what those school needs are but, as I said in my reply, in September the enrolment figures can put pressure on. However, there is a built-in protection as the allocations for the following September are based on enrolments for this September. When the Department is drawing up its Estimates it has a pretty good idea of the profile of pupils and students entering the system. Pressures can arise but we try to do our best to manage them within the budget and we have been able to do that in the past.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister have a system of checking, or second guessing, projections on the basis of past experience? I am thinking of areas where particular problems have arisen in the past in meeting requirements and, in particular, of demographic trends, such as population explosions in some areas which result in extra demands and extra pressure onto the school system. Is the Minister satisfied that he has made adequate provision for such things?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Within the system there is a right to appeal. Allocations are generally made on the basis of last September's enrolments, which gives a fairly food projection. An appeal may be made, however, such as by a school that is developmental and there may be children with special needs that were not anticipated and that will cause pressures for additional resources. The Department seeks to anticipate general trends to the best of its ability, though it might not be able to anticipate specific ones. In the area of special needs, ultimately it is the assessment of groups such as the National Council for Special Education that will determine the resources allocation for SNAs, and that is an independent process for which the Department cannot make complete projections.