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Budget 2025 Education & Parenting Update
Posted by SchoolDays Newshound, on 01/10/2024.
Tags: Education And Politics Teachers Parenting
A total of €1.3 billion has been allocated to the Department of Education for 2025,
This will include:
Childcare and Family
The Disability Services Budget in 2024 will include:
Updated 2 October 2024 with Ministers Budget Statement
Minister for Education Norma Foley, along with Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Hildegarde Naughton and Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne today announced details of an unprecedented €11.8 billion investment in Education and Schools in Budget 2025, an increase of some 9 per cent on the same figure in Budget 2024.
Budget 2025 provides an increase of €712 million in core current funding, as well as over €360 million in core capital funding compared to the original NDP allocation for 2024. An additional €120 million is also being provided as part of Cost of Living supports and €140 million in Ukraine related supports. These additional funds build on significant increases in recent budgets and further enhance the investment in Ireland’s primary, post-primary and special education system.
The significant increased investment is the largest Education budget in the history of the State and reflects Government’s commitment to a quality inclusive school system and improved learning outcomes for every student.
The key features include:
• Some €51 million funding to extend the free schoolbooks scheme to students in transition and senior cycle years, meaning it will now support 940,000 pupils and students in primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme.
• Significant increase in school funding with state funding per pupil – known as the capitation rate – increasing from €200 to €224 per student in primary schools and from €345 to €386 per student in post-primary schools. This 12 per cent increase to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs will cost €30 million.
• An additional €45 million in cost of living supports for all primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme to help them deal with increased costs.
• An additional 768 special education teachers and 1,600 special needs assistants (SNAs) to support children across mainstream, special classes and special schools. This is the highest ever number of SNAs allocated and so in 2025 we will have over 23,000 in our education system. This is in recognition of the growing needs of children across all settings. In total there will be over 44,000 dedicated staff to support children with special educational needs in our schools.
• A new wellbeing initiative designed to support schools to implement bans on the use of mobile phones by post-primary school students during the school day, building on the success of the ‘Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free’ initiative
• A package of measures to ensure that our schools continue to have a supply of excellent teachers, including a bursary for student teachers to increase the number of qualified Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths teachers in post-primary schools, and continued funding for free upskilling courses for teachers in high-demand subject areas.
• Additional funding to tackle educational disadvantage, with more educational supports available for children in alternative school settings and the roll-out of the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy.
• Over €50 million in additional funding for the School Transport Scheme to provide more places for children with special educational needs and to cover bus contractor costs.
• Reduced school transport scheme fees are being kept in place for families next year. They will remain at €50 for primary students, €75 for post-primary students and €125 for a family ticket.
• Funding for the roll out of school transport pilot projects and to increase the Special Transport grant rate.
• An additional 1,000 school posts of responsibility allocated to assist the leadership and management in schools commencing in the 2025/26 school year.
• Increased funding will be provided for Senior Cycle Redevelopment and the new Primary Curriculum.
• Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students will be exempted again from the usual exam fees of over €100 next summer.
• The capital budget will increase by over €360 million compared to the original NDP allocation for 2024 to €1.3 billion in 2025. This will support around 350 building projects that are currently at construction and over 200 other projects proceeding to construction during 2025 and early 2026. Under Project Ireland 2040 some €6 billion will be invested in the education sector over the period 2021-2025.
• Funding for the expansion of the Active School Flag programme in primary schools to increase the number of flags awarded and progress from pilot phase to a full roll-out of the post-primary programme.
Feargal Hurley
(03/10/2024 12:00)
This budget is a disaster for primary school management and principals in particular. Whole electricty and gas prices have increased by 100% generally since 2008, yet the same paltry €200 per child has not increased during the intervening 16 years. Add to this the falling birth rate and see how difficult it will be to heat the schools as capitation is based on the number of children in the school. Teaching and Learning cannot take place in cold classrooms. I have been a principal since 2001 - believe me I know what I'm talking about. Cleaning and insurance costs (38% increase) have also increased in this period. Primary schools are struggling to pay the bills across the country.