Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

-----and is distributed through the Secondary Education Committee, SEC, established by the churches concerned. This fund ensures necessitous Protestant children can attend a school of their choice. I advise the Senator that officials from the Department of Education and Science have met representatives from the SEC to discuss future funding arrangements for Protestant schools. In this context, the Minister has expressed his willingness to consider any proposals that might be made to the Department that would enable the available funding to be focused and adjusted to meet more effectively the twin objectives of access for individuals and sustaining the schools they wish to attend, particularly those in rural areas.

The October budget implemented changes in how all fee charging schools are treated in respect of the number of publicly funded teaching posts allocated to them. With effect from 1 January this year, teachers in fee charging schools are allocated at a pupil teacher ratio of 20:1, a point higher than allocations in non fee charging post-primary schools. In view of the challenging economic circumstances we are facing, the Minister is not in a position to reverse this decision. The decision is justified on the basis that schools which have access to fees as an income source are in a better position to maintain services at a time when the public finances are under such severe pressure. Fee charging schools can continue to employ additional teachers that they fund from their fee income. The Minister will continue to work with representatives of the Protestant education sector to ensure State funding made available to the Protestant community is targeted in the fairest way possible to meet the needs of their children and their schools.

Planned expenditure levels for the Department of Education and Science will be considered as part of the Estimates and budgetary process for 2010. This will include consideration of the report of the special group on public service numbers and expenditure programmes, SGPSNEP. The decisions on all the issues arising will be a matter for the Government. It would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage, pending the outcome of that deliberative process.