Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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4. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the grants that are available to schools to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26656/22]

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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5. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the challenges that schools are facing with increased energy bills in the absence of direct funding for energy upgrades; when schools will be compensated for the significant increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26657/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together.

The Climate Action Plan sets the public sector the ambitious targets of achieving 50% energy efficiency improvement (increased from 33% by 2020) and 51% emissions reduction by 2030.  My Department funds a wide range of energy efficiency and renewable energy supports via the SEAI to public bodies, including schools, to educate and enable them to improve their energy efficiency, decarbonise their activities and reduce costs.

Relevant, initiatives to support the achievement of these targets include:  

- the SEAI Energy Academy;

- the Public Sector Energy Efficiency Programme;

- the Public Sector Schools Pathfinder Programme, which is co-funded with the Department of Education; and

- the Communities Energy Grant.

Further information on these scheme is available on the SEAI website at the following link: and at the following link, which is dedicated to schools: 

The Department of Education provides funding to all recognised schools in the Free Education Scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the Capitation grant, to cater for day to day running costs including heating, lighting etc. and the Ancillary grant, to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. These grants may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities. The Minister for Education (Ms Foley) understands the need for improved capitation funding and is pleased that budget 2020 was able to provide for a further 2.5% increase in standard capitation funding for primary schools that applied from the start of the 2020/21 school year. This builds on the 5% increase in capitation announced in budget 2019. All schools have received the benefit of the capitation increases awarded to date. It is the Minister for Education’s intention to seek funding for further capitation increases in future budgets.