Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 433: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the contents and attachments of a letter sent by one of her assistant Secretaries General (details supplied); if she read and approved of its contents; if her attention has further been drawn to the contents of the correspondence including the two page schedule; the reason the proposed once-off funding, in the year a new school opens, for management bodies in relation to costs associated with establishing schools that have been recognised by her will in respect of one or two schools involve zero funding and in respect of three schools involve a total of €35,000 or 48% of the total sum involved that is €75,000 or €25,000 per school; the way any patron body could proceed to open and operate a new school or schools with less than the full start up grant required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10539/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to confirm that I have approved these new funding arrangements that were communicated in the letter referred to by the Deputy. As stated in that letter, the new arrangements involve funding to the recognised management body for schools under a particular patronage as distinct from additional funding to individual school boards of management. This additional funding is available to the management bodies recognised by my Department and is related to the number of new schools established under the patronage which the particular management body serves. The funding is deliberately scaled upwards to reflect the greater level of activity and support a management body has to give when it is involved with several new schools in any year and where those schools are of significant size.