asked the Minister for Education if he has received a request from the Board of Management of Saint Oliver Plunkett Boys and Girls National School, Dunedin, Monkstown, County Dublin, for an increase in the capitation grant, and for a grant to carry out necessary repairs and maintenance; and the action, if any, it is proposed to take in the matter.

I have received such a request from the Board of Management of Saint Oliver Plunkett Girls' National School, Dunedin, Monkstown.

This scheme of grants is, however, of general application—with certain special provisions for schools for the handicapped—and I am, accordingly, unable to entertain applications from individual schools for higher grants than those provided for in the scheme. Moneys made available under the scheme of capitation grants, introduced in 1974, are intended to be spent on heating, cleaning, repairs and maintenance, the provision of teaching materials, and the periodic painting of the schools. The grant was raised from £6.00 to £8.00 per pupil for the school year 1977-78 and the question of a further increase is now under consideration.