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Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Over €1m spent on sending children of Irish diplomats to school

The cost will rise this year but in over a third of Irish foreign posts there are no children in education paid for by the State.

IT COST OVER €1 million to send Irish diplomats’ children to school in countries all over the world last year with that cost expected to rise this year.

In figures provided in answer to a parliamentary question, the Department of Foreign Affairs said that the total amount paid under the programme known as School Fees Assistance (SFA) was €1.06m last year.

The Department estimates that this will rise by 8 per cent to €1.14 million this year. This is partly due to the  current euro-dollar exchange rate as well as a greater number of children accompanying diplomats on foreign postings.

Included in last year’s figures were significant sums that were put towards the school fees of children of diplomats based in the US and the UK where costs were €141,448.89 and €101,531.59 respectively, primarily because of the greater number of Irish officials working in these countries.

A total of €113,570 was also spent in payments under the SFA scheme for diplomats based in Belgium.

“The rationale underpinning the scheme is that children of an officer serving the State abroad should not be disadvantaged in educational terms relative to children in the Irish school system,” Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said in response to the PQ.

“Furthermore, a change of school can be traumatic for any child and my Department has a duty to facilitate officers in moving their children with as little disruption as possible between the different education systems of the countries to which they are posted in the service of the State.”

Gilmore said that in general where language, educational standards and curriculum at public schools are “comparable to Ireland” the children will attend such schools.

The figures also include over €19,000 spent in Ethiopia, €55,000 spent in Mozambique, €37,000 spent in Malawi and €197 spent in Vietnam. The Department of Foreign Affairs has around 275 personnel based abroad in 58 different countries.

This table provides a full breakdown of payments under the Department’s SFA scheme on a country-by-country basis. School fees are not paid in over a third of Ireland’s diplomatic posts:

(The amount of €4,515 for HEADQUARTERS relates to costs incurred in ensuring continuity of education for children of staff who were based at the Department’s offices in Ireland between postings)

Fianna Fáil’s Seán Fleming queried the amount spent in payments to diplomats serving in the UK and the US given that both are English speaking countries.

He said: “I think people will be surprised by the costs involved.  Ireland’s economic, social and cultural ties with the UK and America are deep-rooted and I think there are legitimate questions to be asked about the amount of money spent on fee-paying education in those countries.”

Fleming said that he had contacted the Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin to see if the allowance was under review like others across the public service and the TD said that he was seeking justification for the 8 per cent rise in cost expected this year.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “The basis of the scheme is not about sending children to private fee-paying schools but to ensure that the child is not disadvantaged in educational terms.

“In particular, staff of the Department will live in several countries during their child’s school years and availing of internationally applied school curricula through a single language is generally a requirement to minimise disruption for children between the different education systems of the countries concerned.  Practice of the Department in this respect is no different than applied by most companies and organisations who have staff deployed abroad.

“Costs of the scheme depend on the number of children accompanying their parents abroad and fluctuating exchange rates with the fees of most international schools are dollar-based.  These vary year to year.  The US and the UK are high in the list as there are more staff with children posted in these locations than elsewhere.”

Read: Adoptions, kidnaps and floods: A busy year for Dept of Foreign Affairs

Read: Diplomacy isn’t free: what Ireland’s 75 embassies cost us in 2010

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22 Comments
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    Mute Crossauldwan
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    Jul 19th 2012, 7:22 AM

    Some features of the civil and diplomatic services cost money. Is FF suggesting that diplomats’ children should sink or swim inthe system wherever their parents arei posted? Example: 16 yr old going into 5th yr whose mother is posted to Finland. Is the youngster expected to do Leaving equivalent in Finnish? All things considered a million seems reasonable to me.

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    Mute mattoid
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    Jul 19th 2012, 7:26 AM

    Sounds fair enough to me…
    It doesn’t say how many children are involved with the 275 staff, but lets say 275 kids for the sake of argument. €1million doesn’t sound unreasonable – how much does it cost to educate a child in Ireland?

    140
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    Mute Creamy Hamstrings
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    Jul 19th 2012, 7:47 AM

    Perhaps I’m missing something here…but what’s the problem?

    133
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    Mute Eimear Smith
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    Jul 19th 2012, 8:32 AM

    I reckon it’s let’s try and get people outraged by this by posting it alongside the column on the Govt unwilling to calculate childcare costings for tax purposes…..unrelated except for the common use of the word child but some people will get hot and bothered about it…diplomats children 1 million euro and mine nothing, Govt out partying at Springsteen blah blah blah

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    Mute Husky McTusky
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    Jul 19th 2012, 7:34 AM

    Diplomacy costs money. Educating diplomat’s children is part of that money.
    What would they have us do, dismantle our entire Foreign Service in the interest of saving a few euros?

    127
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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Jul 19th 2012, 7:51 AM

    There’s no problem as far as I’m concerned!!!

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    Mute kingstown
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    Jul 19th 2012, 8:18 AM

    Sick and tired of the constant public sector bashing. Cut all public services if thats what you want then watch the country implode. This simplistic naive bar stool economics that you simply cut pay etc of public servants and the country will miraculously emerge fr recession will fall flat on its face within one hour of applying such a flawed and fatal logic. Politicians risk at their peril pursuing the IMF IBEC agenda

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    Mute Rory Walsh
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    Jul 19th 2012, 9:43 AM

    Great value in the Vietnamese education system

    31
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    Mute D.A. Molony
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    Jul 19th 2012, 9:46 AM

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with this at all. Diplomats children should not suffer in their development because of the posting of their parents.

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    Mute Brian Ward
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    Jul 19th 2012, 8:57 AM

    Have you tried google? They are readily available if you just look for them.

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    Mute Karl Walsh
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    Jul 19th 2012, 10:13 AM

    I will be be visiting several Asian countries on my travels, just checked yesterday and they all have embassies or consulates, really a great service if I ever have any trouble, one million too educate the childrens staff is not unreasonable.

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    Mute Alan Hayes
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    Jul 19th 2012, 11:23 AM

    Usual Public Service bashing from the Journal. You covered this story less than a month ago. Back for more. Lazy journalism.

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    Mute hjGfIgAq
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    Jul 19th 2012, 11:53 AM

    Hi Alan,

    I’d appreciate it if you could point out where in the piece the public sector is being bashed as you claim? This story was not covered by us less than a month ago as far as I am aware and is published today in the interests of informing the public of the cost of school fees for children of Irish diplomats. There is no hidden agenda behind the story. As far as I am concerned, it is fair and balanced, and puts across both sides’ view on the matter equally and proportionately.

    Hugh

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    Mute John 'Trips' Gallen
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    Jul 19th 2012, 1:38 PM

    Hugh,
    Can you tell us how many kids. Otherwise the whole article is irrelevant and very much pointless.

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    Mute Tim O Connor
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    Jul 19th 2012, 12:15 PM

    This is, by implication, public sector bashing. No, Hugh, you did not make a point in one direction or the other. I suspect that your hope was that you’d provoke comment from the usual bitterly anti-public sector part of Irish society. It’s too bad that you chose to pick on children whose only crime is their parents’ career.

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    Mute Mata Mata
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    Jul 19th 2012, 8:21 AM

    We would like more details such as salaries of diplomats and what allowance per child and ages , does this compare to Ireland , as we have found recently so many benefits and expenses allowed to Government Officials , elected and retired is extravagant and excessive , while the ordinary people of Ireland take the biggest burden.

    15
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    Mute Peter
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    Jul 19th 2012, 9:29 AM

    A diplomats salary is quite high plus it’s not a bad job.. They could pay half of the costs

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    Mute Ken Mitchell
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    Jul 19th 2012, 10:05 AM

    In non-english speaking counties I can understand that education is expensive but what i want to know is if the children of diplomats in english speaking countries are been sent to expensive private schools at our expense for no good reason

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    Mute Irish Mule
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    Jul 19th 2012, 9:55 AM

    Why d heck are we keeping so many embassies in Africa?? Surely were not getting much economic return for these costly setups. Why not hav 1 in s.africa there’s hardly that many of us on that continent.

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    Mute Mick Collins
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    Jul 19th 2012, 10:06 AM

    This story followed on another similar one last week and is remarkable in terms of the balanced views being offered. However the streets aren’t yet aired and that Great Brigade of The People are unlikely to be up yet or are working an early shift so the issue will settle like a good pint of Guinness.

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    Mute Andy Higgins
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    Jul 19th 2012, 4:02 PM

    Ok, if I was to bugger off on a high paid job anywhere in the world, would I expect the company I work for, to pay my kids school fees? em…. answer… HELL NO!! The job was my choice and also to bring the kids would be my choice so snap the hell out of it guy’s this piece is not public sector bashing its simply informing the public if certain questions should be asked E.G are they going to the most expensive schools possible (Seeing as the government are forking out I would say probably yes!) How many children per family and what ages, in certain countries children would need security are we also paying for that and as someone already suggested do we need so many diplomats? Are they also getting the children’s allowance? Do nurses or teachers have their kids schooling paid for? No These people who have applied/decided to take these jobs are getting paid enough to school their own kids so let them like everyone else in the country or out of the country that are not diplomats sort it out themselves everyone should be suffering the same!
    Makes me sick when you say the kids schooling shouldn’t suffer yet kids here are going to school hungry are they not suffering???!!!! Some sense here please!!

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    Mute Michael Fagan
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    Jul 19th 2012, 11:11 AM

    Aah! the top civil servants don’t get paid enough, cut child benefit and old age pensions and give each of them a large increase

    1
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