Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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187. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools currently in debt across the country. [17202/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As per Circular 02/2018 the FSSU, on behalf of my Department, acts as a central repository for the receipt of annual school accounts, as prepared by the school’s external accountant/auditor who is registered with a recognised accountancy body in the State. My Department does not store this data and so the information requested by the Deputy is not readily available. Officials from my Department are liaising with the FSSU to gather the information requested.

My Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary 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 such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep, and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities, except for the employment of relevant secretaries as per Circular 0036/2022.

The current standard rate of capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per student in post-primary schools.

Primary schools with fewer than 60 pupils are paid the Capitation and the Ancillary grants on the basis of having 60 pupils. At post-primary level, schools with fewer than 200 students receive ancillary-related grants on the basis of having 200 students.

As part of the capitation package in Budget 2025 I am pleased to have secured over €30 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. This represents an increase of circa 12% on current standard rates and enhanced rates. This increase is on top of the circa 9.2% increase from last year’s budget. This will bring the standard rate of capitation grant to the level of €224 per pupil in primary schools and €386 per student in post-primary schools from September 2025. Enhanced rates will also be paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils. Schools should also ensure that they are availing of the available OGP procurement frameworks and getting best value for money for all school expenditure.

In addition to these grants, €45 million in cost-of-living supports issued in November 2024 to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the Free Education Scheme. This additional funding announced in Budget 2025 is designed to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity. This funding was paid at a rate of €36 per pupil in primary schools and €55 per student in post-primary schools. Enhanced rates were also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils.

The Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU), funded by my Department, is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters, including budgeting and cashflow management. Any schools that are experiencing financial difficulty can contact the FSSU for guidance and support. Contact details for FSSU can be found on www.fssu.ie.