Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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377. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the role of the education training boards Ireland; the primary and post-primary schools operated and managed by each board; the new primary and post-primary schools established by each board; the funding allocated to education training boards Ireland for the maintenance of established schools under its remit, and the establishment of new schools in the years 2013 to date in 2015; the projected costs for the years to 2020, given increasing demographics; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35364/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I take it that the Deputy is referring to the Education and Training Boards (ETBs). In the main, the role of ETBs is to establish and maintain recognised schools, centres for education and education or training facilities and to provide education and training in those settings.

Details of ETB Primary and Post-Primary schools are available on the Department's website - .

A general and post primary grant to pay teachers, special needs assistants, administrative and maintenance staff, and for the day to day running of schools and head offices and for certain other programmes is the main source of funding for each of the 16 ETBs. The grant is divided between pay and non-pay.

Funding provided in recent years is set out below.*

Pay: 2013: €710m 2014: €703m 2015 (initial allocation): €696m

Non-pay: 2013: €58m**2014: €69m 2015 (initial allocation): €68m

Both pay and non-pay costs across all headings are funded by the Department as well as by receipts retained by the ETBs (e.g. retained superannuation contributions, and non-pay receipts).

Allocations for the years out to 2020 are not yet available and will be determined having regard to a range of factors including demographics, policy considerations and available resources.

* ETBs were established in 2013. Funding in respect of 2013 was allocated on a 12 month basis and based on the (former) VEC configuration.

**In 2013, the non-pay grant was reduced by €13.2 million, which took account of the capacity of VECs/ETBs to utilise cash balances on a once off basis.