Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria that is used in means testing applicants for grants and assistance under the Secondary Education Committee fund; the different level of grants potentially awarded to applicants and other relevant rules related to the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3764/17]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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181. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, in view of the difficulty being experienced by many parents hoping to access funding from the Secondary Education Committee, which is means tested, he will outline the guidelines for the scheme; the level of a grant available to aid a person whose parents are on a certain income; the threshold for that income; the level of the grant to that person; the way in which funds are dispensed; the amount involved; the number of persons accessing the scheme; and the guidelines used to determine if a child is in need of the funds. [3964/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 181 together.

My Department will arrange for the issues raised by the Deputies to be brought to the attention of the Secondary Education Committee.

With regard to the fee-charging Protestant schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is provided by my Department to the Secondary Education Committee, an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the Protestant secondary schools.

The Secondary Education Committee then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding currently amounts to €6.75 million annually. This fund ensures that necessitous Protestant children can attend a school of their choice.

The overall process used by the Secondary Education Committee involves the following:

- Submission of a completed application to the Secondary Education Committee.  Guidance is provided to parents in relation to the application process.

- The child must be a verified member of a recognised Protestant religion

- The child must be planning to attend a school included in block grant scheme

- Parents/guardians are means tested as part of the application process

- Grants are paid at different levels and not as a proportion of fees charged.

- Boarding grant is only available if child lives more than 30km from school.

Application Procedure:

- Application forms are sent in late October annually to schools

- Application forms are forwarded to parents

- Religion criteria is verified by a recognised clergy person

- Financial information and supporting documents (e.g. P60 tax form) is submitted to the Secondary Education Committee with the application form.

- Closing date for receipt of completed applications is 28th February.

- Applications are means tested and fully assessed by end of March

- Secondary Education Committee Board decides amount for each grant level in early April and provisional notification is issued thereafter to applicants

- Approved applications are offered by mid-May

- Grant funds accepted are paid directly to schools in 3 term payments.

Financial Criteria:

The means test establishes whether applicants are in need of financial assistance to afford to send their child to a secondary school that accords with their religious ethos. It also assesses the level of assistance needed. The threshold for the allocation of funding is calculated on an annual basis and is derived from a calculation based on the total number of eligible applications in relation to the available funds.

For example, the level and number of grants awarded in 2016/17 school year was as follows: