asked the Minister for Education if he will revise the regulations governing the establishment of boards of management of regional technical colleges to ensure teacher representation on such boards.

I would refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 427 of 25 April 1978.

In the course of the review I will be considering the matter of teacher representation on the boards of management of the college.

Does the Minister agree that there is effectively no obstacle to his ensuring adequate teacher representation on the boards of such colleges? Can he tell the House when he anticipates that this review will be finished and whether, if he is in favour in principle of the right representation of teachers, he will incorporate such a principle after his review?

There were a number of questions in the Deputy's supplementary to all of which I can say "yes".

Question No. 25 is being treated as a written reply.

26.

asked the Minister for Education if the Constitution and Rules of Procedure for Boards of Management of National Schools permit the expenditure of funds voted by the Oireachtas for the heating and cleaning of these schools to be spent on insurance premiums.

It is not correct to say that the funds voted each year by the Oireachtas as capitation grants towards operating costs of national schools are for the heating and cleaning of those schools, merely. The Constitution and Rules of Procedure of Management Boards of National Schools provides that while the cost of the insurance of the school premises is a charge on the trustees of the school and not on the school account, insurance against liability for injury to pupils and teachers and public liability is a matter for the board and the cost thereof may be charged to the school account, to which the capitation grants must, by regulation, be lodged.

Is the Minister saying that any school which has paid out of the school accounts sums of insurances which are required to be borne by the trustees is in breach of the regulations and, if this is the case, what does he propose to do about it to safeguard moneys voted by the Oireachtas for purposes other than those for which they are being spent?

The Minister is saying that, with the exception of the type of insurance which I specified in my reply, the other type of insurance is not chargeable to the account; the schools have been informed of this and have been directed not to use the funds in that regard.

Will the Minister take steps to recover from the trustees moneys which have been voted by the Oireachtas for one purpose and which have been expended by them for another.

That too is under consideration.

Will the Minister further take steps, as are open to him under the regulations for national schools, to alter the term of office or perhaps even remove management boards which breach the regulations in this way?

That is a different question, Deputy.

The Minister is grateful to the Chair today.

The Minister waits for no man.

Question No. 27.