Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 457: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the funding made available to a school (details supplied) in Dublin 3 to cover the costs of providing a caretaker. [13330/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Funding arrangements for voluntary secondary schools is structured mainly on the basis of capitation grants with additional grants for support services such as caretaking. This provides schools with considerable flexibility as to the manner in which such services are provided to cater for the needs of their pupils.

There have been significant improvements in the level of funding for voluntary secondary schools including the school referred to by the Deputy. With effect from January last, the standard per capita grant was increased by €12 per pupil and now amounts to €286 per pupil. Voluntary secondary schools have also benefited, under the school services support fund initiative, from further significant increases in the support services grant. Under the terms of recent equalisation measures, the support grant has been significantly enhanced and now stands at €145 per pupil from 1 January 2005.

These grant increases are in addition to the equalisation funding grants of up to €44.44 per pupil, subject to a cap of €15,554 per secondary school, introduced in 2001, and also additional to the per capita grants of some €70 per pupil, subject to a cap of €24,442 per school, introduced in 1992, that have been approved for voluntary secondary schools including the school referred to by the Deputy. The provision of secretarial and caretaking support services, is a particular focus of these support grants.