Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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210. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he expects to be in a position to approve an increase in funding offered to a school (details supplied) given the increase in costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28684/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I do recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over the recent years.  My Department's approach will be to apply any such increase in funding to all primary schools rather than applying it to an individual school such as the one referred to by the Deputy.

In Budget 2015 the first increase in education spending was secured and a further increase in education spending was achieved in Budget 2016.

The Government has just launched the first Action Plan for Education aimed at making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. The Action Plan outlines hundreds of actions to be implemented over the 3 year period 2016 to 2019.  One of the actions as part of the plan is to strengthen the focus on reducing school costs for parents by restoring capitation funding over a three-year period as resources permit.