Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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This is my first time speaking since yesterday and despite the lowering of standards we are seeing from the Government, nothing will stop me coming in here and speaking on behalf of my community.

I want to speak to the Minister of State about funding for schools in the north inner city. Schools in the north inner city, like most schools around the country, are at the coalface of many of the issues we hear being talked about. They are dealing with issues of poverty. There are issues of generational trauma and there is a school community there who are providing a sanctuary and have done for many years. Despite all that and the day-to-day concerns schools have to ensure every single child who comes in is looked after in the incredible way they are, including to ensure every child has a place they feel comfortable in and can learn in, there is the general fear a school feels when it receives an unexpected bill in the post. That could be a €6,000 electricity bill, for example. Then the school leader has to worry about whether the lights can even be kept on.

That is a reality that has come into the public consciousness in the last couple of weeks due to a school in Killinarden, but it is a reality also facing schools in the north inner city. I have written to the Minister of State’s office asking for a meeting. I will use one school as an example, having sought permission from its principal this morning. Rutland National School is in the heart of Dublin 1, right in the north inner city. It is an amazing place full of the most decent people who do incredible work every single day. It has received more money from the Department of Social Protection for hot meals than it does from the Department of Education to run the school. Some 50% of the school’s capitation grant goes on insurance and as we know, Allianz is the only insurer in that market. The rest is used for electricity and heat. That is the capitation grant gone. Cleaning and caretaking wages are being paid from the DEIS grant, which is supposed to deliver equality for children. Its being used to pay the bills is therefore a compounding of inequality. That DEIS grant should be ring-fenced for the purpose for which it was developed. The school has a huge number of glass windows because they make for a sunny environment and allow the children to see outside, and for other reasons. The school does not have any money to pay for the cleaning of the windows.

That is the example of one school and I wrote to the Minister of State about four different ones. Schools are terrified about unexplained bills coming through the door. There are substandard facilities. St. Laurence O'Toole’s Specialist School, just off the North Strand, has been in a temporary building for the best part of 30 years. It deals with young people who are the most vulnerable. These are young people who did not have a good experience in more traditional schools. While the school staff are incredible, the building they are in demonstrates the respect the State has for them. People cannot learn in that environment and teachers cannot teach a vulnerable person in that environment, yet it is what we dealing with all the time. We are at a crisis point about whether schools are able to keep the doors open and the lights on and create an environment that is warm in every sense of the word. Budgets are being stretched to the max. Principals and school leaders are being asked to do a variety of different jobs every single day that take them away from what their first role should be, namely, ensuring the welfare of the students who attend the schools and the staff we ask to teach within them.

I would like the Minister of State to come down and listen to school leaders in the north inner city. This is a community that is often discussed. Every time I hear a Minister talk about the inner city task force, all the great work it has done and the €50-odd million that has been spent in six years, my mind goes back to those schools that are struggling so hard to meet such a demand. That is without even going into the provision of special education, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and all those other issues – this is just about the functioning of the building.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy very much for raising the issue. I understand the genuine concern and the way he has brought it to the floor of the Dáil.

I thank Deputies for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position in relation to the financial situation for funding for primary schools in Dublin's north inner city. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to the schools. Schools have been in contact with the Department and have been referred to the financial support services unit, FSSU. The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education system by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general upkeep and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the board of management can allocate according to its priorities, except for the employment of relevant secretaries as per Circular 36/2022.

As part of the capitation package in budget 2025, the Department is pleased to have secured over €30 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and in the longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. This represents an increase of circa 12% on current standard rates and enhanced rates. This increase is on top of the circa 9.2% increase from last year’s budget. This will bring the standard rate of capitation grant to the level of €224 per pupil in primary schools from September 2025. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils. Schools should also ensure they are availing of the available OGP procurement frameworks and getting best value for money for all school expenditure.

In addition to these grants, €45 million in cost-of-living supports issued in November 2024 to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education system.

This additional funding announced in budget 2025 is designated to assist schools with the increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity costs. The funding was paid at a rate of €36 per pupil in primary schools. Enhanced rates were also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils. The Department of Education is aware that costs and funding can pose a very real problem for school communities, and is constantly working to address this matter and enhance the financial and other supports available to the schools and their communities. While not wishing to pre-empt the outcomes of any future budget negotiations or financial parameters agreed by the Government, the Department of education will continue to seek and prioritise funding required to meet the ongoing costs of running schools. The FSSU, which is funded by the Department, is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters, including budgetary and cash flow management.

At the outset, the Deputy mentioned St. Laurence O'Toole's and one other school, the name of which I did not get. I would be anxious to take up his offer to visit some of the schools as well.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State. I assure him my office contacted his office about a week ago regarding that offer.

We talked about not wanting to pre-empt any future budget negotiations and in parliamentary form that is absolutely fine. However, if I can pre-empt what happens in the absence of schools being adequately resourced and funded, it is that children are left behind. I will also compound that by saying it will not just be all children who will be left behind; it will be the most vulnerable children who are left behind. Some of the schools we are talking about are amazing places. They deal with complex needs that are generational and difficult. School principals are being cut to the bone. The Minister of State spoke about ensuring schools are availing of all available moneys. I can give him a document from St. Laurence O'Toole's and from Rutland National School which demonstrates all their costs coming in, all the money they avail of and all the money going out. I do not want to read it into the record but the Minister of State will clearly see there is a very significant difference between what is coming in and what is going out. Rutland National School in the heart of Dublin 1, in the north inner city, is dealing with all sorts of really complex generational needs. It still provides a sanctuary and it is struggling just to keep the lights on. We have a basic duty here. We can have all the debates we have to have but surely we can agree that children should be able to be taught in an environment that is warm and that the people we task with overseeing that building should not have to, on a day-to-day basis, worry about simply keeping the lights on. If we are neglecting that responsibility, I do not think schools can wait until the start of a budgetary process in the summer where a budget would be delivered in November and the income will be spent next year. By that point, we will have already lost about half a dozen kids within that scenario due to the type of care that needs to be given. We are taking school leaders away so then they have to kind of scrimp, save, beg, borrow, get on to their TDs and get us in to the Dáil just to ask to keep the lights on. How many schools in the country are struggling to keep the lights on? How much do they need and how fast can we get to them? Will the Minister of State please come down to meet some schools in the north inner city? Let us have a conversation and demonstrate the type of urgency that not only the children in the schools in the north inner city deserve, but all kids deserve. There are basic needs that are not being met here.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his genuine concern regarding this. If he shares the document he mentioned with me immediately afterwards, I will take it up and work with him and with all Deputies in relation to school communities.

I outlined the issues in respect of what we are going to do and what we have done in previous budgets. We are acutely aware of the challenges that are being faced by schools, school communities and the members of the school management of those schools who are doing an extremely good job. The FSSU, on behalf of the Department, plays a crucial role in the process. However, rather than going into it, I will say I understand the concerns the Deputy has. He has relayed the concerns of the school communities. I will take the documentation from the Deputy and will work with him and with all Deputies to make sure we bring the proper information and try to make sure we have funding for schools.