Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 139: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding to schools under the auspices of the vocational education committees in the 2010/11 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28417/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Financial allocations are made to the VECs on the basis of the financial year rather than the academic year, and are paid as a block grant. VECs are given a high level of autonomy in the management and appropriation of their budgets and each VEC is allowed to distribute its allocations in line with its priorities and perceptions of need. My Department's general and post primary expenditure grant to a VEC is divided between pay and non-pay.

General and post primary non-pay covers all items other than pay and grants for committed items that are provided for separately. It includes costs associated with VEC administrative offices and other administrative costs as well as costs associated directly with schools. The total non-pay cost of the general and post primary programme in 2010 amounted to some €81m in 2010. This was funded primarily by my Department's block grant of €67m, but also by non-pay receipts retained by the VECs of €14m.

The total general and post primary pay cost in 2010 was €693m. Of this, instruction and SNA pay in VEC schools and colleges, including PLC provision, accounted for €613m approximately, administrative pay was €51m approximately, and some €29m was for maintenance pay. Pay costs were funded primarily by the pay grant issued by my Department of €645m, but also by pay receipts retained by the VECs of €48m, comprised principally of retained superannuation contributions.