Written answers

Thursday, 24 February 2005

Department of Education and Science

Capitation Grants

5:00 pm

Photo of Bernard AllenBernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if there is a grant available to schools which involve themselves in a recycling of waste programme as the present situation is that schools in the Cork area have to pay €5 per bag to dispose of recycled waste. [6376/05]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Primary schools' running costs are met by my Department's scheme of capitation grants. These grants are intended to contribute towards the general operating costs of schools which would include heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance, painting, teaching aids and other miscellaneous charges. The capitation grant for primary schools has been increased substantially in recent years. Since 1997 the standard rate of capitation grant has been increased from £45, €57.14, per pupil to €121.58 with effect from 1 January 2004 and is being increased by a further €12 per pupil with effect from 1 January 2005 bringing the standard rate to €133.58. This represents an increase of almost 134% in the standard rate of capitation grant since 1997.

There have also been significant improvements in the level of funding for second level schools. The standard per capita grant now amounts to €286 as against the rate of €224.74 that applied in 1997. This increase will bring the per capita grant in the case of disadvantaged schools to €324 per pupil. In addition, under the school services support fund initiative, secondary schools have benefited from further significant increases in the support grant. This grant, which was introduced in September 2000, has been increased from €25 per pupil to €103 from 1 January 2005.

Funding for voluntary secondary schools has been further enhanced by the introduction of a range of equalisation measures designed to reduce the historic anomalies in the funding arrangements for the different school types at second level. Under the terms of recent equalisation measures, the support grant has in the case of voluntary secondary schools been significantly enhanced to €145 per pupil from 1 January 2005.

These increases are in addition to the range of equalisation grants of up to €15,554 per school per annum that have also been approved for voluntary secondary schools.

Local authority service and other charges payable to the various local authorities do not come within the remit of my Department. It would be a matter for the local authorities to decide whether schools are liable to pay such charges. Where it is decided that schools are liable for such charges, the cost would form part of the normal running costs of schools and would fall to be met from the capitation funding which schools have received from my Department.

It would not be feasible for my Department to introduce specific schemes whereby grant assistance would be provided to schools in respect of individual charges such as charges for waste recycling.

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