Written answers
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Department of Education and Skills
Fee Paying Schools
Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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519. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details of those schools, primary or secondary, that have entered the free scheme since 2011; the total State funding provided to these schools each year since their entry into the free scheme; and the total State funding provided for each of the three years prior to them entering the free scheme. [40084/14]
Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Five fee charging post-primary schools have joined the Free Education Scheme since 2010/11.
The net indicative cost to the Department of teacher salaries in the five fee charging schools which transferred to the Free Education Scheme in this period is of the order of €0.7m.
This takes account of an increase of 28 posts warranted by the application of the pupil teacher ratio applicable to the free scheme offset by the allocation of 12 additional posts arising as a consequence of an increase in the pupil enrolment of these schools since entering the Free Scheme. It is expected that any further increase in enrolments in the following years will further offset the issue of the extra Department funded teaching posts.
Capitation and Capital Grants provided to the fee charging schools which transferred to the Free Education Scheme were as follows:
| Year | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2011 | €218,987 |
| 2012 | €1,647,352 |
| 2013 | €3,409,908 |
| 2014 | €1,191,885 |
In the years before entry to the Free Education Scheme the salaries of teachers employed within the annual staffing allocation for fee charging schools were paid by the State. Capitation grants were not paid to these schools in the period prior to entering the Free Education Scheme.
When examining the issue of additional costs to the Department arising from the entrance of schools to the Free Education Scheme, it must also be recognised the savings which the Department has realised through the changes to the staffing schedule of fee charging schools over recent years. Since 2009, those savings amount to approximately €27m, greatly exceeding the additional costs which have been incurred from the entry of the five fee charging schools into the Free Education Scheme.
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