Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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378. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a grant is available for a school event (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13818/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Department provides specific teaching resources and additional grant aid to schools that offer the transition year programme.

Schools in the Free Education Scheme qualify for payment of a transition year grant of €95 for each pupil participating in the programme.

The cost of transition year grants in 2013 was €2.88m.

The Department allocated circa 1,790 whole time equivalent teaching posts in the 2013/14 school year in respect of transition year with an estimated cost of €116m.

The Department does not provide grants for activities, such as an exchange programme, to schools who offer transition year. Given the scale of our economic crisis, I have no scope to introduce new or additional funding measures.