Written answers

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Department of Education and Skills

Fee Paying Schools

Photo of Billy TimminsBilly Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding fee paying schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48306/12]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The correspondence referred to by the Deputy concerns the arrangement whereby the salaries of teachers employed within the approved annual staffing allocation for fee charging schools by my Department, are paid by the State; an arrangement that pre-dates the introduction of the Free Education scheme and which exists since the foundation of the State. The estimated cost of these posts is in the order of €100m. 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 provided by my Department to the Secondary Education Committee (SEC), an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the Protestant secondary schools. The SEC then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of 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. This fund ensures that necessitous Protestant children can attend a school of their choice.

The Deputy will be aware that I announced a review last December, in the context of the Budget 2012, where I made a further one point change to the staffing allocation of fee charging schools. I indicated at the time that that the purpose of the review would be to inform future policy in relation to exchequer support for these schools. The review will be included in the material used to inform Government deliberations on the next budget.

I would like to make it clear that there has been no decision relating to fee paying schools and any budget adjustments for this year. Given the extremely difficult economic circumstances that this country is facing and the fact that every Department has to find considerable cost-savings, all expenditure must be examined to see if cost-savings can be found. I wish to reiterate that no decisions in relation to the upcoming Budget have been made.

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