Schools get 9% capital spending increase

EducationThe Minister for Education, Ms Hanafin, secured a 9 per cent increase in capital spending in the Budget.

However, no precise details were given as the Government seeks to maximise the media impact of the Budget. Ms Hanafin will give a press briefing over the coming days.

The 9 per cent increase in capital spending (15 per cent when additional money for public/private partnerships is included) should allow for the current pace of work in the school building programme to continue.

Ms Hanafin said last night it would allow will enable her to "maintain the significant momentum being made in the schools building programme".

Last night, Fine Gael education spokeswoman, Ms Olwyn Enright, said core Exchequer funding for school buildings will effectively stagnate over the next five years as a result of the Budget.

"From 2005 to 2009 the direct Exchequer funding allocation for capital projects will be only cosmetically increased each year, with additional allocations, that in some cases will not even keep up with inflation," she said. Primary schools received over €200 million last year, an allocation of over €220 million is expected.

The Department of Education and Science was said to be "reasonably satisfied" with how it emerged from the Budget - although it is known that Ms Hanafin was seeking a much larger increase.

It is expected the Budget will make no provision for a so-called "reform fund" for the universities - even though the Minister supports some kind of incentive based programme for universities in the process of reforming structures.

Last night both the INTO and the ASTI were sharply critical of the Budget's failure to cut class sizes.

The INTO general secretary, Mr John Carr, said nothing had been done to meet the Government commitment to classes of less than 20 for the under-nines.

"This is the third Budget where this promise has been ignored. There are half-a-million children in classes nearer to 30 than 20. This breach of promise will not be forgotten by teachers and parents."

The INTO said the increased capital funding over the next five years will enable the Government to tackle the significant number of dilapidated school buildings. This level of funding is needed to build schools and take teachers and pupils out of prefabs, sports clubs and converted funeral parlours, it said.

In all, the Minister will have an additional €215 million available in the years 2005-2008 - compared to the figure outlined for the same period in last year's Budget, together with the new provision of €575m announced for 2009.

On disabilities, the Minister welcomed the creation of a multi-annual framework of funding for the next five years which, "in cumulative terms provides a dedicated €87.5m in the education sector over the five years".

The ASTI acting general secretary, Mr John White, said: "the allocation of additional funding for pupils with special educational needs in second-level schools must be a genuine investment in a sector which is currently grossly underfunded by international standards".

Mr White said the latest OECD figures show that Ireland comes 20th out of 26 countries when it comes to funding per second-level student..

The TUI president, Mr Paddy Healy, said the Budget was "another missed opportunity to remedy the past failures of our policy makers".