Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 335: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the change of circumstance which prompted him to review the provision of certain grants to Protestant schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43728/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to reassure the Deputy that I, along with my colleagues in Government, recognise the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos.

The Deputy will be aware that, against a backdrop of a difficult economic and fiscal situation, I had to take decisions that impacted on the staffing and the range of funding grants to schools generally.

Protestant fee-charging schools were paid a number of ancillary grants which Catholic fee-charging schools did not receive. I made a decision to discontinue these grants, which were not used to defray fees. If funding is provided to schools solely on the basis of denominational criteria, there is a constitutional difficulty.

However, I wish to emphasise that the Government decided to continue to provide the Block Grant, which was increased this year. It is targeted as a support to individual pupils to enable them to attend Protestant schools.

I have made clear that I am prepared to work with the Protestant fee-charging schools to identify particular problems and issues that may be arising in some of their schools, or in respect of some students in their schools, and to examine how these might be addressed in a manner consistent with the Constitution.

In this regard I have met with Protestant educational representatives, including the Church of Ireland Board of Education; Monaghan Collegiate School; the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland and the Committee on Management for Protestant Schools. In addition, my officials have also met with the Secondary Education Committee. I have explained that a simple reversal of the measures taken in Budget 2008 applicable to all Protestant fee-charging schools and determined solely on a denominational criterion was not legally possible.

I believe that engagement between my officials and representatives of the Protestant schools is the best way to seek to resolve the issues that are of concern.