Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide further details on the specific analysis on tuition fee income available to schools and its utilisation in the Protestant fee-charging schools; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many Protestant fee-charging schools have significant additional expenses because they must be run as boarding schools to cater for the geographically dispersed Protestant population; if his further attention has been drawn to the fact that almost half of the Protestant students in fee-charging schools come from households whose disposable income is so low that they qualify for a grant and that fee-charging boarding schools is often the only feasible way to provide a Protestant ethos secondary education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39530/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I have asked my officials to conduct an analysis of the potential extent and nature of the Exchequer investment, including funding for teacher posts, in the fee-charging schools.

The specific analysis to be conducted by my Department will involve looking at the level of the tuition fee income based on fee rates and pupil numbers. It will take account of Exchequer investment foregone (in teacher allocations and recurrent grants) because the school is charging fees. In this way the additional or discretionary income available to fee charging schools relative to other schools can be assessed. It will then involve some dialogue with schools to confirm the information and each fee charging school will have the opportunity to identify if there are certain individual factors which may limit their freedom to use this discretionary income – e.g., mortgages entered into for capital developments or other verifiable liabilities. This process will apply to all fee charging schools.

In relation to the other points made by the Deputy in relation to provision for Protestant students I want to assure the Deputy that the Government is fully conscious that maintaining a network of schools is important if students from minority denominations are to be enabled attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos, while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements for those schools are in accordance with the Constitution.

I should clarify for the Deputy that schools may charge for boarding facilities and still be classified as in the "free scheme" where they get the additional funding and teacher resources payable to all second level schools that do not charge tuition fees.

There are at present two second level schools serving the needs of Protestant children where boarding facilities are provided and where tuition fees are not charged. One of those schools ceased to charge fees in the past year and now has access to the grants and teaching resource allocations available to second level schools generally. My Department worked with the school concerned to facilitate its transition from the fee charging sector.