As the Deputy is aware, this Government and my Department are committed to supporting our schools and ensuring that they have adequate funding. Capitation increased only in the last few weeks. This was secured in last year's budget. Any negotiations and agreements on next year's budget will be happening in the coming weeks. I am also interested in not only providing more supports for schools but also making sure we can, where possible, reduce costs. That is why our climate action plan is so important in making sure we retrofit buildings and reduce bills. We should also look at other costs schools are incurring around insurance and in other areas. The Deputy can be assured that we are absolutely committed to supporting schools in as many ways as possible.

Sentiment score: 0.47

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. SNAs are an integral part of schools in supporting children and I acknowledge the work they do. By the end of this year, we will have more SNAs than we have ever had before. There will be more than 23,000 SNAs, including the 1,600 additional SNAs provided for in last year's budget. They are allocated through the NCSE and that is based on recommendations by SENOs who look at the needs of the entire school, as opposed to individual children. As the Deputy will be aware, in recent weeks, schools were written to by the NCSE highlighting the allocations they would receive. Schools that are to see a reduction will not see it until next year when we have a redeployment scheme in place to make sure we provide stability and clarity for SNAs and schools. I am aware that some schools received an increase in their SNA allocation while for others the allocations remained the same. It is important that it is done through the NCSE and is based on the needs of individual schools. A further increase in SNA allocations is something I will work towards with my colleagues through the budget negotiations.

Sentiment score: 0.23

I thank the Deputy. Voluntary contributions are by their nature voluntary. It is up to each individual school to decide what it asks parents for. My objective as Minister is to ensure they have the support, funding and capitation they need for the day-to-day basics. That is why we recently increased the capitation. For next September, the rates for primary and post-primary schoolchildren will increase. Of course, there is a clear commitment in the programme for Government to increase that further. As I mentioned earlier, I want not just to see how we can increase funding for schools but also how we can reduce their overall costs. I do not just want to reduce the cost of electricity, lighting and heating but also the cost of insurance and costs in other areas. It will always be up to the school to decide whether or not it wants to ask parents for voluntary contributions, whether for school tours, technical equipment or otherwise. My objective is to ensure that in respect of the day-to-day costs of books, ICT equipment and other things, schools are supported and provided for through the annual budgets. Of course, this year's budget will be no different.

Sentiment score: 0.25