Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding for school libraries will be restored; if, at least €1 million could be provided; if it is proposed to source the funding from another Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6696/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The current financial situation and Ireland's reliance on external funding through the EU/IMF Support Programme means inevitably that the funding situation will be extremely difficult in the period ahead. I would be misleading the Deputy if I pretended otherwise. The Government will do its best to prioritise education spending and protect front-line services but the reality is that my Department will have to bear its share of the Government's overall effort to cut public spending in order to deal with our fiscal crisis.

In these circumstances, it is not possible to restore the grant to local authorities for the provision of library services to primary schools, and I do not believe that it will be possible for any other Department to replace this funding. Individual Boards of Management may allocate their combined capitation and ancillary funding according to the priorities of the school.