Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 474: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will ensure that the resourcing of second level schools here is increased on the forthcoming Estimates to at least the average OECD levels. [30601/06]

Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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Question 483: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on the OECD Report Education at a Glance which placed Ireland 29th out of 31 countries in terms of the GDP proportion spent on education; the way in which she proposes to reverse the clear pattern of educational under-spending inherent in the report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30800/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 474 and 483 together.

I assume the Deputies are referring to Ireland's expenditure on education as a proportion of GDP. Deputies will be aware, given the distinctive structure of the Irish economy and specifically, the comparatively high proportion of our GDP that is expatriated as profits of foreign direct investment enterprises, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is not a good indicator of the relative resources available in the case of Ireland. For example, the difference in magnitude between Ireland's GDP and Gross National Income (GNI) was 18% in 2003. This means that standardised expenditure data for Ireland would be higher if GNI (or GNP) were used instead of GDP. For most OECD countries, however, the difference between GDP and GNI is negligible and the vast majority of other countries are quite happy to continue using GDP to standardise international data on expenditure. Department of Education and Science expenditure on education in Ireland in 2003, the reference year used in the latest 'Education at a Glance' report, represented 4.9% of Gross National Income. This increased to 5.2% in 2005.

The Deputies should also note that spending by my Department on second level education increased by 17% between 2003 and 2005. In 2005 €2.7 billion was spent on second-level education — up from €2.3 billion in 2003 and €1.25 billion in 1997. These increases have allowed for major progress to be made both in the staffing and in the day-to-day funding of our schools.

With regard to staffing, it should be noted that there is now one teacher for every 13 students at second level.

Day to day funding for our schools has also increased significantly in recent years. Since the financial year referred to in the OECD report — 2003 — second-level schools have benefited from substantial increases in funding. The standard capitation grant of €266 per pupil in 2003 now stands at €298 per pupil from 1 January last. In addition, the support services grant for secondary schools has been increased from €127 per pupil in 2003 to €159 per pupil from January last. This per capita grant is in addition to a range of equalisation grants of up to some €15,500 per school per annum that were also approved for voluntary secondary schools.

This Government has dramatically increased investment in education in recent years. However, it is simplistic to just say that increasing spending will result in better outcomes as evidenced by the relatively poor educational outcomes of some high spending countries. What we all wish to see is the resources targeted towards education being used to best advantage at all levels.