Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if substantial extra funding will be provided to raise the amount spent on post-primary education from the current position of 21 out of 27 OECD countries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32754/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The OECD report referred to by the Deputy examines changes in expenditure since the mid-1990s. It shows that public expenditure on education in Ireland has increased substantially between 1995 and 2002 at all levels, even when allowing for inflation. According to data provided by my Department, per pupil expenditure in Ireland at second level has increased by 16% from €5,845 in 2002 — constant 2004 prices — to €6,788 in 2004.

Increased national income and public expenditure has enabled us to reduce average class size over time as well as increase expenditure on salaries and other areas of current expenditure. In the case of the student-teacher ratio, the figure for Ireland at second-level has fallen to 13.6 in 2003-04, which is in line with the international average.

In recent years, second level schools have benefited from substantial increases in direct funding. The standard capitation grant, which is the main source of funding towards the running costs of secondary schools, now stands at €286 per pupil from 1 January last. In the case of disadvantaged schools, an additional per capita grant of €38 is paid, bringing the total per capita grant to €324.

Introduced with effect from the 2000-01 school year, the per capita grant paid under the school services support initiative for secondary schools now stands at €145 per pupil from January last. This increased grant is paid in addition to the range of equalisation grants of up to €15,554 —€44.44 per pupil — per annum that have also been approved for voluntary secondary schools. A secondary school with 500 pupils now receives annual grants of up to €255,761 —€275,000 in the case of disadvantaged schools — towards general expenses and support services. These significant increases in the funding of post-primary schools is a clear demonstration of my commitment to prioritise available resources to address the needs of schools.