Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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176. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to restore the capitation grant for primary schools to €200 as a matter of priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43451/17]

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 recent years.

Budget 2018 marks the second year of major reinvestment in the education sector, as we continue to implement the Action Plan for Education, which has the central aim to make the Irish Education and Training service the best in Europe within a decade.  In 2018, the budget for the Department of Education will increase by €554 million to over €10 billion.

Due to the many competing demands for the available funding it was not possible to make progress in Budget 2018 on restoring capitation funding to schools.  Capitation funding remains a priority for me to address as part of the Action Plan.

The process is underway for restoring grant funding that is used by schools to fund the salaries of ancillary staff.  The ancillary grant was increased by €6 in 2016 and €5 in 2017 in order to enable primary schools implement the arbitration salary increase for grant funded school secretaries and caretakers and to also implement the restoration of salary for cleaners arising from the unwinding of FEMPI legislation.