Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 456: To ask the Minister for Education and Science for the percentage of GNP [i]per capita[/i] invested in each second level student in each of the past ten years. [36187/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The data requested by the Deputy are contained in the following table. They show, over a ten year period, the ratio of spending per student at second level (DES gross voted current expenditure) to Gross National Income per capita. It should be noted that the increases in spending as a proportion of GNI per capita in recent years have of course been set against a backdrop of a significant increases in Ireland's Gross National Income, thereby the extra provision for education has been very substantial.

Spending by my Department on second level education has increased significantly in recent years. Indeed it increased by 17% between 2003 and 2005 alone. 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. In relation to funding, the standard capitation rate has increased from €266 per pupil in 2003 to €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.

Significant improvements have also been made in the staffing of our second level schools in recent years. With the creation of over 2,000 additional posts and the retention of over 2,100 posts which would otherwise have been lost due to the fall in enrolments, there is now one teacher for every 13 students at second level.

This increase in staffing has dramatically improved the support available to children with special needs at second level. Indeed, there are now over 1,800 teachers working specifically with students with special needs in our second level schools — up from only about 200 such teachers in 1998. In addition, there are more than 500 learning support teachers and more than 1,300 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our second level schools.

The number of language support teachers at second level catering for pupils for whom English is a second language has also grown significantly from just over 100 teachers in the 2001/2002 school year to nearly 350 such teachers in the current school year.

Guidance provision has also been improved, with an additional 100 guidance posts allocated in the 2005/06 school year. The additional posts included provision for a further improvement in the allocation of Guidance hours for post-primary schools participating in the DEIS programme. There are currently a total of 683 whole-time equivalent posts allocated for guidance in post-primary schools.

So, as I have outlined, major improvements have been made in both the funding and the staffing of our second level schools in recent years. I assure the Deputy that I will continue to prioritise further progress in both these areas. While this Government has consistently prioritised increased investment in education, it should be noted that levels of investment are not the only thing that affect the quality of the education provided. In that context, I am sure the Deputy will be pleased to know that in increasing investment in recent years we have also put a major focus on measures to improve educational outcomes. I am sure the Deputy would agree that it is important to ensure that the resources targeted towards education are being used to best advantage at all levels.

In the past, investment in public services was severely restrained by resources and public indebtedness. Today, with the highly successful economic policies pursued by this Government, Ireland is a relatively more prosperous nation and we have greater scope to make further improvements to public infrastructure and provision. It is my firm intention to continue to provide for additional resources for education at all levels.

Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 457: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the percentage of GNP spent on education in each of the past five years. [36188/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The data requested by the Deputy are contained in the following table, which shows that significant improvements have been made in recent years. It should be noted that the increases in spending as a proportion of GNI in recent years have of course been set against a backdrop of a significant increases in Ireland's Gross National Income, and therefore the extra provision for education has been very substantial.

The 2006 budget for my Department is €7.9 billion, compared to €5.4 billion in 2002 and €2.9 billion in 1997. As the Deputy will be aware, the increased investment in education provided by this Government has allowed for major progress to be made in areas such as special education provision, falling pupil-teacher ratios at primary and post-primary levels, large increases in the numbers of teaching staff and higher levels of spending per student in real terms.

Along with other public services such as health and social protection we will continue to give a high priority to investment in education in the overall allocation of national resources.

While this Government has consistently prioritised increased investment in education, it should be noted that levels of investment are not the only thing that affect the quality of the education provided. In that context, I am sure the Deputy will be pleased to know that in increasing investment in recent years we have also put a major focus on measures to improve educational outcomes. I am sure the Deputy would agree that it is important to ensure that the resources targeted towards education are being used to best advantage at all levels.

In the past, investment in public services was severely restrained by resources and public indebtedness. Today, with the highly successful economic policies pursued by this Government, Ireland is a relatively more prosperous nation and we have greater scope to make further improvements to public infrastructure and provision. It is my firm intention to continue to provide for additional resources for education at all levels.