Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will re-examine the administration of the block grant by the State Examination Commission; if the grant for all children attending a minority faith school, regardless of the child's faith, is paid to the SEC; if this is the case, to then determine the reason majority faith families are excluded from applying for a grant to the SEC; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30572/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I assume it was the Deputy's intention to refer to the Secondary Education Committee rather than the State Examinations Commission.

There are 26 distinctively Protestant schools and one Jewish school. Of these schools, the Jewish school and 20 of the Protestant schools charge fees. Many of the schools have a boarding facility, reflecting the dispersed nature of the communities across the country. The six Protestant schools within the free education scheme receive the same funding as all other schools within the free education system.

This Government recognises the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant or reformed church background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

With regard to the fee-charging Protestant schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is paid to the Secondary Education Committee, an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the schools. The Secondary Education Committee then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of boarding fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding amounts to €6.5 million annually. There are no changes proposed in respect of the Protestant block grant.

The mechanism used to calculate the funding is no longer linked to the number of students attending these schools, rather it is based on an assessment of the needs to address the needs of children of minority faiths who wish to attend of a reform church or Protestant ethos.