Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 619: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his views on correspondence from a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28463/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government contains a commitment to increase the number of primary teachers by at least 4,000 and on that basis to make further progress on reducing class sizes. Budget 2008 provided my Department with €4.6 billion or €380 million extra for teacher pay and pensions. This was a very substantial level of additional investment in terms of the economic environment on which the budget was based. That allocation provides for paying for over 2,000 extra primary teachers more than the number in schools when the Government took office last summer. It covers the additional teachers that went into schools last September for the previously announced reduction to a 27 to 1 based staffing schedule along with additional teachers this school year and in the coming school year to meet increasing enrolments, to provide for special needs and the language requirements of newcomer children. This means that in terms of the overall commitment to provide at least 4,000 additional teachers the Government in its first two years in office will be well ahead of target.

All Programme for Government commitments to improve public services including those relating to class size are contingent on the economic and budgetary environment and the need for prudent expenditure and fiscal management. Even since the presentation of Budget 2008 last December there have been significant alterations in the external and domestic environment. In that context any reasonable observer would regard the fact that the Government has already taken measures that will see the allocation of over 2,000 additional teachers to primary schools as a considerable investment all things considered.

I am aware of the cost pressures on schools and it is for this reason that it is a priority for Government to improve funding for the day-to-day running costs of schools. Specific commitments in relation to improving school funding form a central part of the education provisions of the Programme for Government. These commitments are a direct follow on from the clear thrust of Government policy over recent years to improve the position of schools and primary schools in particular. Primary schools are now getting over €178 per pupil to meet their day to day running costs — an increase of nearly 70% on the 2002 rate of €105 and €15 more per child than they got last year.

The school referred to by the Deputy applied for and was approved grant-aid of €300,000 for the provision of resource rooms under the Permanent accommodation scheme 2007. The Scheme allows Boards of Management to address their accommodation and building priorities with a guaranteed amount of funding and gives Boards of Management control of the building project. The intention of the scheme is to provide funding to schools to enable them to undertake wanted building projects. The scheme is not intended to leave schools with significant fund-raising needs but for the school to tailor the scope of capital works commissioned to the available funding. A central tenet of the scheme is that the schools, granted discretion and funding, must equally accept responsibility for prioritisation, adherence to statutory regulations, control of costs and ensuring value for money. The decision on whether to continue participating in the scheme or to drop out, if the scope of build is more than the funding envelope permits, is a matter for each school authority. Further progress on the project is a matter for the school authorities.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 620: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his views on correspondence from a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28464/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government contains a commitment to increase the number of primary teachers by at least 4000 and on that basis to make further progress on reducing class sizes.

Budget 2008 provided my Department with €4.6 billion or €380 million extra for teacher pay and pensions. This was a very substantial level of additional investment in the terms of the economic environment on which the budget was based. That allocation provides for paying for over 2000 extra primary teachers more than the number in schools when the Government took office last summer. It covers the additional teachers that went into schools last September for the previously announced reduction to a 27 to 1 based staffing schedule along with additional teachers this school year and in the coming school year to meet increasing enrolments, to provide for special needs and the language requirements of newcomer children. This means that in terms of the overall commitment to provide at least 4,000 additional teachers the Government in its first two years in office will be well ahead of target.

All Programmes for Government commitments to improve public services including those relating to class size are contingent on the economic and budgetary environment and the need for prudent expenditure and fiscal management. Even since the presentation of Budget 2008 last December there have been significant alterations in the external and domestic environment. In that context any reasonable observer would regard the fact that the Government has already taken measures that will see the allocation of over 2000 additional teachers to primary schools as a considerable investment all things considered. I am aware of the cost pressures on schools and it is for this reason that it is a priority for Government to improve funding for the day-to-day running costs of schools.

Specific commitments in relation to improving school funding form a central part of the education provisions of the Programme for Government. These commitments are a direct follow on from the clear thrust of Government policy over recent years to improve the position of schools and primary schools in particular. Primary schools are now getting over €178 per pupil to meet their day to day running costs — an increase of nearly 70% on the 2002 rate of €105 and €15 more per child than they got last year. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department has approved funding in March of this year in the amount of €120,000 towards an additional classroom for the school in question.