Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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259. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way funding towards the education and training board system is allocated including amounts allocated in the most recent budget; if there is a specific needs and resources model employed to distribute funds equally; the capital funding in respect of each board; the number of schools located in each ETB area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32560/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The financial allocation to an an Education and Training Board (ETB) to pay its teachers, special needs assistants, administrative and maintenance staff, for the day to day running of its schools and head offices and for certain other programmes is known as the general and post primary programme grant. The grant is divided between pay and non-pay.

The pay grant covers the cost of sanctioned posts directly on an ETB's payroll at authorised rates of pay, and it is broken down by teacher pay, special needs assistant pay, administrative staff pay and maintenance staff pay. Both teaching and non-teaching staff allocations are approved on an ETB basis and it is a matter for each ETB to distribute the staffing allocations concerned within its scheme.

The non-pay grant (standard expenditure) to each ETB is determined having regard to pupil enrolment variations, certain other costs, an estimate of the ETB's receipts (mainly receipts from night classes) and the amount available for distribution. The grant is to meet costs associated with the ETB's administrative offices, certain other administrative costs and costs associated directly with schools. ETBs are given a high level of autonomy in the management and appropriation of the grant in respect of standard expenditure, and each ETB is allowed to distribute the grant in line with its priorities and perceptions of need. The non-pay grant also includes provision for, inter alia, the schools services support fund (SSSF), DEIS schools, the book grant, programme grants (e.g. transition year programme) and special class grants (known collectively as associated expenditure). Associated expenditure grants are determined on a per capita basis.

The total pay grant in 2014 amounts to some €710m. Of this, the Department's allocation for teacher pay is €572m approximately, for SNA pay is €25m, for administrative pay is €47m approximately and some €24m for maintenance pay. Pay costs across all headings are also funded by receipts retained by the ETBs of €41m, comprised principally of retained superannuation contributions.

The total non-pay grant in 2014 amounts to some €69m. This is comprised primarily of Department funding of €61m approximately and by non-pay receipts retained by the ETBs which, it is projected, will be of the order of €8m.

Capital funding is available to the ETB sector in respect of approved capital projects. Any ETB with such a project draws down funding as the project progresses.A number of large scale school projects are devolved to the ETB sector for delivery and appropriate funding arrangements are in place in such instances. The current status of all schools on the school building programme may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie

There are currently a total of 256 ETB post primary schools. Details of the number of post primary schools in each ETB are set out on the attached table