Written answers

Tuesday, 6 March 2012

Department of Education and Skills

Departmental Functions

8:00 pm

Photo of Joe HigginsJoe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way the transfer of responsibilities for skills development to his Department impacts on the budget for other crucial areas of his Department's expenditure such as primary education. [12465/12]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Under the Employment Programmes and Services and Skills Training (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2010, the functions of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to FAS were transferred to the renamed Department of Education and Skills from 1 May 2010. As a result of this transfer, €452 million (8 month costs) was added to the 2010 allocation of Vote 26: Education and Skills in respect of these services. Subsequently, the Department of Social Protection, following the commencement of the relevant sections of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010, assumed funding and overall responsibility for FÁS employment services and programmes, resulting in €462 million, being the 2011 allocation for these services and programmes, transferring to the Vote of the Department of Social Protection Vote with effect from 1 January 2011.

In determining my Department's overall annual expenditure allocations for 2011 and 2012, all aspects of the Department's programmes and services were examined, given the requirement to effect expenditure savings on the Education and Skills Vote, while at the same time, however, endeavouring to protect as much as possible front-line services in the Education Sector. This protection includes the filling of teacher vacancies that arise, as an exception to the general moratorium on the filling of public sector vacancies. Thus, while Budget 2012 implemented a range of savings across the Vote for my Department, expenditure on First-Level Education Grants and Services as contained in the Revised Estimates Volume, shows an increase from €3,081 million in 2011 to €3,109.4m in 2012 - an increase of 1%. This compares to an overall decrease of 2% in the 2012 Vote for my Department, when compared to the provisional outturn for 2011.

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