Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 35: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the commercial companies who supply prefab classrooms and resource rooms to primary schools on a rental basis on which rent is paid in whole or in part by his Department are required to produce a tax clearance certificate to either the board of management or his Department before a rental contract is signed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26104/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department currently provides grant-aid towards the provision of temporary school accommodation to the management authorities of education providers where it is established that a need for such temporary accommodation exists.

Generally, where primary schools require temporary accommodation, the Board of Management is responsible for acquiring temporary accommodation and the rental contract is between the Board of Management and the supplying contractor. My Department provides grant-aid to the individual school authorities towards the costs of procuring the accommodation. Such grant-aid is paid at a rate of 95% for schools with permanent recognition and 75% for schools with provisional recognition. Schools are expected to pay a local contribution of the balance, with a threshold on the local contribution of €3,175.

While payment of State / Public Authority Grants, subsidies and similar type payments, by Government Departments and public authorities, of a value of €10,000 or more, is subject to the person holding a current tax clearance certificate, Section 4.1 (iii) and 4.1(ii) of Circular 44/2006 Revised Tax Clearance Procedures for Grants and similar type payments excludes schools from this requirement.

Increasingly, where new schools are established in rapidly developing areas, my Department directly provides the accommodation for schools from the start, and in these cases, the issue of local contributions and co-funding of the rental accommodation does not arise. The rental contract is between my Department and the supplying contractor. In these instances my Department require details of the relevant supplying contractor's Tax Clearance Certificate and the expiry date of such.