Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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540. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions 1198,1199 and 1286 of 22 September 2015, if her Department monitors whether institutes of technology adhere to the employment control framework; the actions her Department takes when a notification is made that an institute of technology has breached the framework; whether it is legal for third level institutions to discriminate on the basis of religion when appointing persons as chaplains. [33194/15]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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555. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views that State-funded contracts are awarded on a sectarian basis by public bodies; if there are public procurement guidelines available which would ensure value for money within the third level education sector. [33378/15]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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556. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1198, 1199 and 1286 of 22 September 2015, if she is aware that the institutes of technology are in breach of public sector appointment criteria or the employment control framework for the sector regarding the recruitment of chaplains; the amount of that funding allocated to the institutes of technology by the Higher Education Authority; and if she will provide a breakdown of the institutes of technology which are in breach of public sector appointment criteria or the employment control framework. [33381/15]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left)
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557. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1198, 1199 and 1286 of 22 September 2015, the steps that she and the Higher Education Authority will take to ensure that the institutes of technology that are in breach of the public sector appointment criteria or the employment control framework will abide by these criteria; and her plans to hold these institutes to account. [33382/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take questions 540, 555 to 557, inclusive, together.

My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions, including Institutes of Technology. The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions and the internal disbursement of funding is then a matter for the individual institution. The total recurrent funding allocated by the HEA to the Institutes of Technology last year was €363.5m.

Most third level institutions provide chaplaincy services for their student body and decisions on such provision is a matter for the individual institutions as autonomous bodies. Chaplaincy services can be provided by way of either the appointment of a chaplain as a member of staff of the relevant institution or by the provision by the diocese/other appropriate body of a chaplaincy service by way of a contract for services.

The recruitment of staff is also a matter for individual higher education institutions, however, it should be in line with public sector appointment criteria and the provisions of the Employment Control Framework for the sector. Officials of my Department have been in discussions with the HEA in relation to this matter and it has been agreed that the HEA will undertake a survey on the recruitment of chaplaincy services within the institutions.