Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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401. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding allocated to primary and post-primary education, for counties Longford and Westmeath, for each of the years 2008 to 2015 to date. [35654/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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There are a significant number of expenditure components and sources of funding to primary and post primary education which make up the total national allocation. Therefore, any attempt at geographical disaggregation of the national data would be a complex and resource intensive process and is therefore not available to be provided to the Deputy.

The general position is that my Department provides funding for the school system based primarily on the number of pupils in each school.

One of the main grants is capitation funding which is provided to all recognised primary schools and second level schools within the free education scheme.

My Department provides capitation funding to mainstream primary schools by way of per capita grants, subject to a minimum grant equivalent to 60 pupils. Enhanced rates are payable to Special Schools and Special Classes attached to mainstream schools.

The funding arrangements made by my Department for second level schools reflect the sectoral division of our second-level system. At the core of all arrangements is reliance upon capitation as the principal determinant of funding.

My Department provides funding to voluntary secondary schools by way of per capita grants.

My Department provides funding to Community and Comprehensive schools on a budget basis that is based mainly on pupil numbers, but also take into account additional factors which vary from school to school such as age of buildings, size of school etc.

With regard to the ETB sector financial allocations are made to ETBs as part of a block grant. ETBs are given a high level of autonomy in the management and appropriation of this grant and each is allowed to distribute its allocations in line with its priorities and perceptions of need.