Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the provision of increased State funding will be supported for Educate Together; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33721/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The level of funding that the Department of Education and Science provides to Educate Together as a school management body is on a par with that provided to Foras Patrúnachta na Scoileanna Lánghaeilge, the Church of Ireland Board of Education, the Islamic Board of Education and the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education.

However, following discussions with Educate Together the Department of Education and Science has provided additional funding to Educate Together in 2005 to meet the immediate issues of concern to that body. The amount provided in 2005 was €81,133. The matter of the future funding to be provided to the primary management bodies, including Educate Together, in 2006 will be considered as part of the normal Estimates process.

In accordance with the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, I, as Minister, am obliged to have regard to the need to reflect the diversity of educational services provided in the State. Applying this provision to the development of multi-denominational education, at primary level, the Department of Education and Science has supported the establishment of a significant number of new multi-denominational schools in recent years. Of the 24 new schools granted provisional recognition in the past three years alone, 12 are multi-denominational. At post-primary level, the requirement for multi-denominational education is met by the State sector through non-designated vocational education committee schools.

To underpin the establishment of new schools, the Department of Education and Science has made a number of changes in recent years which have assisted patron bodies in the provision of accommodation. One of these changes, which was strongly welcomed by the patron body for multi-denominational schools, was the abolition of the local contribution to the building costs for State-owned school buildings, which had cost up to €63,000 per school. Other innovations include the development of the design and build model to provide permanent accommodation much more quickly, such as in the case of the new multi-denominational school in Griffeen Valley, Lucan, which was designed and built in less than 13 months.

Many multi-denominational primary schools are established in areas of rapidly expanding population growth. School building projects in these areas are assigned a band 1 rating under the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. This is the highest band rating possible which results in the delivery of permanent accommodation in the shortest timeframe achievable.

These measures are a strong indication of the Department's commitment to supporting an educational diversity agenda, including multi-denominational education provision. It will continue to do so as part of its own statutory obligations and in the context of the national development plan which is structured to support the development of all educational sectors regardless of ethos.