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THERE HAS BEEN a 540% increase in the number of schools who were referred to the state’s Financial Support Services Unit which offers guidance to school management in times of crisis in the last two years.
New figures reveal that almost half of the 34 facilities in Ireland receiving assistance in their finances are special schools or are included on the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (Deis) programme.
The figures were released to Sinn Féin TD and education spokesperson Darren O’Rourke, who said the massive increase in schools needing funding help represents the need for increases in the base-level grants that schools receive.
Schools are commonly referred to the Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) by the Department of Education in times of financial crisis following engagement between the school and government.
The FSSU provides additional oversight and guidance to boards of management for school finances and offers support for financial governance, training and compliance.
Just five primary schools were referred to the unit for the 2022/23 school year. The figure has since increased to 32 primary schools and two secondary schools receiving support this year – an increase of 540% in the last two years.
Of the 34 schools receiving assistance, 12 of them are recipients of the Deis programme while four of them are special schools.
Speaking to The Journal, O’Rourke said the “root of the issue” is that the funding awarded to these schools is not enough to match the increased cost that boards of management are facing.
He described the massive increases as a “proxy” for the need to better allocate funding into two per-capita grant schemes, the capitation grant (for day-to-day costs) and the ancillary grant (for support staff).
Primary schools with fewer than 60 students are automatically awarded both grants while secondary schools with under 200 students receive staff assistance payments.
O’Rourke, referring to increases in costs such as energy bills and insurance premiums in recent years, said: “The base level of that funding for our schools isn’t matching the increased costs that our schools are facing.”
“I think it’s a case that some schools can weather the storm better [than others],” he added, explaining that Deis schools may not have as much access to donations from an ‘affluent’ community, by nature of their disadvantage, compared to other schools.
Education minister Helen McEntee told O’Rourke last week that her department remains “committed” to providing funding to primary and secondary schools through both grants, as well as increasing capital funding in each budget.
Over €30 million is available for schools in need of assistance for day-to-day costs, she said.
In the Dáil this week, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy again highlighted the case of Sacred Heart Junior School, in Killinarden, near Tallaght, in Dublin. He said the school would have to “close its doors because it could not pay the bills”.
It is one of the schools that has been referred to the FSSU, the Dáil heard. Murphy said that engagement between the unit and the school began in December last year and has been ongoing, with the unit requesting more financial information from management.
O’Rourke said there is a need to increase funding in the grants for schools, like Sacred Heart Junior School, and implement a better-targeted Deis programme, as the figures insinuate that the additional funds to schools are not meeting the desired outcome.
“You can welcome measures like the free books scheme and hot school meals, but then you have the advantage that these schools are supposed to have – based on their disadvantage – whittling away,” he said.
He added: “What we have here is the failure of the State to reach its goals, in terms of educational equality.”
McEntee said: “The Department of Education is aware that costs and funding can pose a very real problem for schools, and is constantly working to address this matter, and to enhance the financial and other supports available to schools.
Though not wishing to pre-empt Budget decisions, McEntee added that the Department of Education will continue to seek the necessary funding required to meet the ongoing running costs of schools.
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If only there was a rainy day fund with millions of euro in it we could use.
@087 bed: If only the government didn’t give 7 billion a year to foreigners and NGOs.
@087 bed: Thanks to economic competence we do have such a fund!
@Del Ray: economic competence or a tax haven scheme?
@Charles Okumbu: agreed
@Charles Okumbu: Okumbu certainly sounds like a foreign name to me.
@Rian O’Sullivan: I work
@Charles Okumbu: Also taking up housing an Irish person requires.
@Rian O’Sullivan: I’m going back to Nigeria in 6 months. Too expensive here.
@Rian O’Sullivan: so, should an Irish person who will not work, draws benefits be given housing ahead of a migrant who does work? Me, I am giving it to the migrant who contributes all day long.
@Charles Okumbu: Excellent news safe trip home.
@Darius Guppy: No there should be no free housing given out full stop be it to Irish or foreign.
@Rian O’Sullivan: Really there are no borders, but you don’t need to be so afraid Rian
@087 bed:
We do not have a rainy day fund
Ireland’s national debt one of the highest in the world at €42,000 per person
By 2030, the Irish state will need an additional €8b a year relative to just before the pandemic to maintain current service levels across areas like healthcare and pensions.
1.24pm, 21 Feb 2024
34.4k
144
IRELAND HAS ONE of the highest gross public debt levels in the world according to figures released by the Department of Finance today, at just over €42,000 per person.
At the end of last year public debt in Ireland is estimated at €223b, down from €236b at the end of 2021 but around €20b higher than just before the pandemic.
@087 bed: apple tax is well gone
Ireland’s national debt one of the highest in the world at €42,000 per person
By 2030, the Irish state will need an additional €8b a year relative to just before the pandemic to maintain current service levels across areas like healthcare and pensions.
1.24pm, 21 Feb 2024
34.4k
144
IRELAND HAS ONE of the highest gross public debt levels in the world according to figures released by the Department of Finance today, at just over €42,000 per person.
At the end of last year public debt in Ireland is estimated at €223b, down from €236b at the end of 2021 but around €20b higher than just before the pandemic.
If only our tax money didn’t have to fix Ukrainian BMW cars we might have money instead for our disadvantaged Irish schools!
@Dan The Man: they do love the German cars all right
@Dan The Man: If only we could finish the worlds most expensive building…. for the children like
This was known well before now,hidden just like the homeless figure, the lying of number of houses,the increased on private health, electricity, the operations preformed on children who didn’t need,and not on the ones who still waiting after promises made.
Ireland seriously needs to stop with wastage and with immediate effect stop funding NGOs ..at very least streamline why so many for homeless? Migrants, energy, etc, some with only 4 on staff on a salary of 100k ..
If an audit was done on every single homeless charity/ NGO and checked wages and expenses, and checked what those expenses used for…all the government grants and donations there would be serious questions to answer and justify that expenditure and homeless figure still increasing …
@KO: the swines would still get away lightly just look at dee forbes ffs..
@Maire Hicks: How could we forget, yet that is what they hope for.!
@KO: Absolutely and don’t forget.. lessons will be learned yadda, yadda yadda, it’s ridiculous.
Tell the government your school is an IPAC center and watch as the millions roll in.
@Ichabod Crane: Tell the government you identify as an ipas centre
The fact that schools often have to ask parents to bake buns and cakes so that they can be sold back to the same parents in order to raise money for basics such as teaching resources illustrates just how farsical funding in the education sector is in this country.
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. FFG strategy.
Remember, before the election, we were told the opposition were “the bogey men” who’d ruin the country if they got into power…
The people voted FFG back in, again…
And now we’re being drip fed the bad news by FFG that the country is already in ruins.
The people voted for this so that’s what you get wait till the economic storm hits our government still won’t care they will still get the big wage and us peasants will be thrown the crumbs while our government look after war torn countries and people who are bleeding this country dry we are on a downward spiral and it will be worse than 2007/8
@giles wolohan: Well done Giles. You’ve just demonstrated why we need to spend more on education. Grammar, punctuation, oh dear!
@Fran Ken: ah would you grow a life
@giles wolohan: I work with immigrants who have better writing skills than Irish people. This is despite the fact that English is not their first language. You should be embarrassed.
@Fran Ken: as I am dyslexic I do ok not worried what you think but to my 80 odd likes to your 0 likes on both your comments win win for me and please don’t comment back I don’t answer fools and me being the bigger fool to answer you in the first place.And I never mentioned any minority of people so your immigrant rant could be seen as slightly a racist comment toward .e be very carful when reading as you say bad grammer
@giles wolohan: Saying immigrants are smarter than Irish is racist? Maybe it is, but not to immigrants. As for the 0 votes, I think I hit a nerve. Truth hurts.
@Fran Ken: are you still awake
TDs need to be contacted about billions spent on ipas centers and going money overseas and tell them it must stop now ,our kids been made second class citizens in their own country , it’s a money racket ipas center for TDs and their cronies who get to own them and not be named!!! fffg traitors
I blame the new 20% tariff for every next crisis/faluire!”
@sakk sa: i blame our government
@sakk sa: it’s obvious who to blame. Cost of EVERYTHING gone out through the roof and the Dept. hasn’t kept pace allocating funding. Schools doing fundraisers and asking for parents to donate – in a first world “apparently rich” country. Go figure!!!
Sure the hundreds of millions wasted daily by our Government, OPW and others would sort this in a blink.
And these are the good times, wait ’til the economic storm hits!
Everything has always been underfunded. History of poverty had us believing it’s good honest ‘character building’ stuff. lol.
A non-story. 34 schools out of many thousands got their books wrong. Could be many reason, many genuine. There’s a fund and system in place to help. Lets call it a 540% increase and activate the wrath and keyboard warriors of the far-left.
@Del Ray: AJ Products in the Ad channel… beautifully played algorithm! Our opinions and ego are more of a reason for outrage than all the supposed causes put together. I wonder if we’re some kind of galaxy wide psychological experiment.
It’ll be grand, if the (majority) Christian kids just keep eating the halal food, blessed by an imam and offered to ‘allan’, that (minority) muslim kids ‘must’ eat, and that no Christian parent was consulted about.
@Ed Brennan: A holy war! lol
If any of the school are catholic schools with a catholic ethos and prayers at morning and lunch and end of day and gender separation and prepare for communion in all of 3rd class and confirmation in all of 6th class and do religion using the catholic religion curriculum and have a parish associated to raise money and a priest sitting on the board why is there no financial support from the church. Just calling a spade a spade here. They are look for it both ways. All children should have equal access to education without discrimination in clean and healthy environments by non bias teachers in a open accepting school environment. From experience this is not reality. If a catholic school has other means why drain the coffers, go ask daddy for some money see how far he will support you.
Apple tax is well gone
Ireland’s national debt one of the highest in the world at €42,000 per person
By 2030, the Irish state will need an additional €8b a year relative to just before the pandemic to maintain current service levels across areas like healthcare and pensions.
1.24pm, 21 Feb 2024
34.4k
144
IRELAND HAS ONE of the highest gross public debt levels in the world according to figures released by the Department of Finance today, at just over €42,000 per person.
At the end of last year public debt in Ireland is estimated at €223b, down from €236b at the end of 2021 but around €20b higher than just before the pandemic.
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