Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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The Minister of State is very welcome. It is not often that I have raised a local issue in the Chamber since I became a Senator in 2016, but this is an issue that is extremely close to my heart. Scoil An Chroí Ró Naofa Sóisir in Killinarden is facing serious financial trouble. The school opened in 1980 and now caters to three generations of the Killinarden community. Killinarden is an extremely tight community. We look after each other. What we do not have in financial and social capital, we have in human capital in terms of how we care for each other.

That a school that understands the context and historic nature of the community in the way this school does could potentially close is not just a travesty in terms of the children's education but a threat to the social cohesion and fabric of the community. Our community experiences a lot of hardship and the school is the most consistent place that we will experience throughout our day. Even beyond the education piece, we have to look at the fact that the SNAs in the school are local women. We know that everybody is minding and looking out for each other. The school originally catered for 400 children and the population of the school has decreased.

The Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee, has engaged on this matter and has said she will provide an advance in capitation funding, but this is a short-term solution when we need bigger picture thinking. The school needs double capitation. Currently, it is using its DEIS funding to pay bills and bridge gaps. This funding was used to pay for art and music therapies and additional extracurricular activities. Not only are the kids losing out in terms of what they should be getting educationally, they are now also losing out in what they should be getting in terms of extra needs.

This is a community that has a lot of complex needs. The potential closure of the school is not something that should be taken lightly. Some people may argue that there are other schools close by or the children can attend a school down the road. However, the closure of the school would threaten the safety of the community, including children.

I hope that, rather than the Minister of State responding with a short-term solution such as the advancement of funding to keep the school open temporarily, we look to DEIS band 1 plus. Some schools deal with many more additional needs than other DEIS schools. We need a solution that provides the proper care for those schools. I ask the Minister of State for an update on the DEIS band plus system and what we can expect to see in that regard. Will that meet the needs of the school? A school with a smaller population of students - there are 117 pupils - will advance children far more than having to fill a school with more pupils. A double capitation grant would do that.

Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here today. My involvement in this matter arises from a representation made to me by a colleague at work, a parent who has children in the school and received a letter warning him that, as and from 1 April, the school will close its doors and that the parent might attempt distance education. One can imagine what that means for working parents, single parents and the like. It would be a disaster. No parent should be confronted with a letter stating that they have three weeks to relocate their children.

I note the Taoiseach was asked in the Dáil about this matter by Deputy Paul Murphy and indicated that, despite some delay from late November when the crisis became acute, something is now in hand. No parent should be confronted with a letter of this kind. I would have been shocked to receive it when my kids went to primary school. Everything Senator Ruane said about a vulnerable community with disadvantaged children makes it doubly sad that a situation like this could have arisen.

Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)
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Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome the exchange students from Georgetown Visitation School in the US and the students from their host school in County Louth, who are in the Gallery. How apt that we are having a conversation on education. Thank you for joining us today.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I welcome all our visitors, wherever they come from. We are delighted they are here and can listen to our discussion, even if right now they have to leave.

I thank the Senators for outlining their position on the financial situation of the Sacred Heart Junior National School in Killinarden. I take this matter on behalf of the Department of Education. The Department has been made aware of the financial position of the school and is committed to offering all available and appropriate support to the school as quickly as is necessary, to avoid any uncertainty. In order to support the school, more information is needed about its financial situation and the Department has asked the school to provide this. The school is engaging with the financial support services unit, FFSU, with this purpose. To address the immediate cash flow issues in the school, the capitation grant funding due to be paid to the school in June 2025 will be paid before the end of this week. The Department is keeping in contact with the school and patron so that the appropriate support can be provided.

The Department commits to providing funding to recognise primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme 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, 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 36/22.

As part of the capitation package in budget 2022, 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 approximately 12% on current standard rates and enhanced rates. This increase is on top of the approximately 9.2% increase from last year's budget. This will bring the standard rate of capitation grant to €224 per pupil in primary schools from September 2025. Enhanced rates will be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils.

Schools should also ensure that they are availing of the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, 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 September 2024 to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education system. This additional funding announced in budget 2025 is designed to assist schools with increasing day-to-day running costs, such as heating and electricity, and was paid at a rate of €36 per pupil in primary schools. The FFSU, funded by the Department, is an important source of advice and support for schools in financial matters, including budgeting and cash flow management.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. This is a school I went to as a child. I spent all my primary years there. One of my teachers, Ms Bridget Clare, is here today for the debate. It is a very important school, and I urge the Minister of State to communicate to the Department the need for a year-on-year doubling of the capitation grant, and not just this interim investment. It helps and is welcome but there needs to be a long-term plan.The deputy principal in the junior side of the school teaches full time. There is no way for them to have access to an actual deputy principal. This is in a school where protection issues often come up and there are many highly complex needs. While we welcome what has been offered, I ask the Minister of State to ensure it is communicated very strongly that the capitation grant needs to be doubled for this school to be able to continue and to be able to give kids in Killinarden what they deserve in terms of their education so they can flourish.

Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. I want to emphasise that the Minister of State, as an educationalist, will appreciate that this kind of crisis should not take place. There should be an early warning system rather than a fire brigade action at the end of a period of time. My information is that the crisis emerging at this school was present for some time. I am glad to see that the FSSU has been engaged by the Department now to support the school and that the acceleration of payment of the particular funding has been put in place.

Two lessons must be learned from this. First, parents should not be treated in this way under any circumstance. It is a terrible shock for parents to receive a letter of the kind my work colleague received. Second, the early warning system in the Department should operate much faster and the FSSU should get involved much more quickly. The situation of the shock letter that was sent to parents threatening to close their school with effectively two weeks' notice should not recur. I thank the Minister of State.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Senators. Of course, I cannot comment on the response from the Department of Education but as a TD in this House I fully understand what both Senators are saying to me and the awful shock it was for parents and families. I thank the Senators for giving me the opportunity to outline the situation with regard to the financial situation at the Sacred Heart Junior National School in Killinarden and the ongoing support the Department of Education is providing. While the FSSU, on behalf of the Department, plays a crucial role in this process, in order for the Department to engage with the current financial situation the school needs to engage with the FSSU for this purpose. The Department wishes to expedite this engagement and the school is now constructively engaging with the FSSU. I hope that the situation will resolve itself; that the school, which both Senators care so much about, will not continue in the position it is in; and that the parents and students at the school will be able to look forward to a future that perhaps they were not quite so sure of three or six months ago.