Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
453. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the funding and resource supports available to a school (details supplied) in light of the significant infrastructural, demographic and pedagogical challenges faced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [73480/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools and the Programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to schools of all types to ensure that schools can meet day-to-day running costs.
The commitment in the Programme for Government builds on the progress which has been made in recent years. The Department has secured €39 million in Budget 2026 towards increased capitation funding for primary, post-primary and special schools to provide additional financial support towards their running costs. This will see an increase in the standard capitation rates paid to schools of €50 per pupil for primary schools from €224 to €274 and of €20 per student for post-primary schools from €386 to €406. This will also allow for an increase of €20 in capitation rates for Urban Band One DEIS primary schools, increasing the mainstream pupil rate in these schools to €294. The increased capitation rates will also see special schools now receive the same rates of mainstream capitation, for young people aged 12 and over, as for their peers in mainstream post-primary schools. These increases will take effect from September 2026. This funding will benefit schools around the country in managing their day-to-day running costs.
The increases announced in Budget 2026 are in addition to the 12% increases as part of Budget 2025. The last three Budgets have resulted in an increase in the level of capitation grant rates of 49.7% (€91) paid to primary schools and 28.5% (€90) paid to post-primary schools.
The 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 €224 per pupil in primary schools and €386 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. Enhanced rates are also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils.
OGP frameworks are available to schools for a number of categories including facilities management, managed services, professional services, and utilities. Schools should ensure that they are availing of these available OGP procurement frameworks in order to get the best value for money for all school expenditure, in accordance with Circular 0060/2013. The benefits arising from these frameworks include cash savings, administrative savings from reduced duplication of tendering, greater purchasing expertise, improved consistency, enhanced service levels and legal certainty. Schools Procurement Unit (SPU), funded by the Department, is an important source of advice and support to schools on procurement matters - www.spu.ie
Schools in financial difficulty are encouraged to contact the Department for advice and support. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to schools, which may include an advance in capitation grant funding or other measures.
The Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU), funded by the Department, is an important source of advice and support to schools on financial matters.
Applications relating to the provision of funding for issues relating to an existing school building can fall under a number of different delivery mechanisms including, most frequently, the Summer Works Scheme and the Emergency Works Scheme.
The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The EWS operates on the basis of the minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation. The EWS usually provides an interim solution until such time as a comprehensive solution can be provided under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS).
The purpose of the SWS is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis and, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school.
The Climate Action Summer Works Scheme (which was previously named the Summer Works Scheme) places a strong emphasis on sustainability. Schools can now undertake additional measures such as insulation upgrades, LED lighting installation, EV charger provision, bike rack facilities to support active travel and other climate-focused works alongside traditional maintenance.
The newly announced Climate Action Summer works has recently closed for applications, while the EWS is open for applications year-round. It is open to any school to make an application under the most appropriate scheme
The Department recognises the importance of the Minor Works Grant to primary schools. The Minor Works Grant is provided to all primary and special schools, to enable them undertake small-scale minor maintenance and improvement works on a devolved basis. I recently announced that Minor works for the 2026/2027 school would be paid in December 2025.
The school referred to by the Deputy is due to receive €9,810 in minor works funding this week
Under Project Ireland 2040, a commitment was given that the Minor Works Grant would be paid in either December or January of the school year to all primary schools, including special schools. In recent years, the Department’s approach has been to pay the Minor Works Grant to schools in advance of the start of the following school year, in order to facilitate a better lead in period for schools to plan any maintenance or minor works during the summer period.
Since 2020, €340 million in Minor Works Grants and Enhanced Minor Works Grants, have been allocated to schools. This includes the payment of Minor Works Grants totalling almost €30 million for the school year 2026/2027 which has issued this week
Primary and special schools need not apply for Minor Works Grant aid. Under the scheme, funding is made available to all primary and special schools on the following basis:
€5,500 basic grant plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil enrolled in the school on the 30th of September of the year prior to the issue of the grant. The €74 rate applies to a special needs pupil attending a special school or attending a special class attached to a mainstream school.
Schools have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed, to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs.
The Digital Strategy for Schools to 2027 and its associated implementation plan is underpinned by funding of €200 million for schools in the form of the ICT Grant over the course of the strategy, committed to under Ireland’s National Development Plan (NDP). The funding allocation model is provided for in the National Development Plan and outlines funding to issue over the period of the NDP, applied by the Department for the Digital Strategy duration (to 2027 for the current strategy).
To date, a total of €100 million of the €200 million committed for in the NDP for the strategy has issued to schools through the ICT grant.
This funding underpins the ongoing commitment to supporting and enabling schools to continue to embed the use of digital technologies to enhance teaching, learning and assessment
