Gilmore: Schools open on verge of bankruptcy

SCHOOLS are forced to open “on the verge of bankruptcy” because of inadequate Government funding, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore claimed last night.

Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Gilmore said the Department of Education appeared to fund schools “on the understanding they will have to contend with chronic debt from day one”.

He said the start-up grant for a new school was just €6,348 — the only money it would get until the annual funding grant arrived at the beginning of the new year.

Mr Gilmore said: “This [€6,348] is expected to pay for the cost of recruiting staff, equipment for classrooms and essentials, such as computers and photocopiers, for cleaning and utility bills, and insurance for at least four months. Unfortunately, it costs about €50,000 to set up a new seven-classroom school.”

He tabled a Labour Party motion calling on the Government to double the capitation grant for primary schools from the 2008/2009 academic year, which begins in September. Capitation is the method by which the department fund schools based on pupil numbers.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin said the Government was “committed to increasing school funding”, but stressed there was a need to protect Ireland’s prosperity. “There is a need for careful management of the public finances in order to protect Ireland’s prosperity in the period of slower levels of economic growth.”

Noting the Programme for Government set out to double the primary school capitation grant by 2012, she said she was confident it would be “possible to build on the significant achievements of recent years and to do so in a manner consistent with overall prudent financial management”. The debate continues tonight. The Government is expected to defeat the Labour motion.