Minor works grant and HEPA filters
Deputy Gannon asked whether the increased minor works grant for schools would be enough to cover HEPA filters as well as other urgent repairs. The Minister said the grant is more than doubled this year and is not an advance on next year's allocation, but the Chair cut off the exchange when the Deputy disputed that clarification.
I think it is good fortune that the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform is here to answer questions today, because I have a very specific question that relates to public expenditure. The grant for minor works arrived in schools today. We all welcome the fact that there was a 50% increase on the grant for the minor works which, is it assumed, will be used to install HEPA filters. Some schools may have to choose between installing HEPA filters and other minor works, such as bathroom renovations and fixing windows. I had huge issues with that and that was intended to be the subject of my original question. However, the remittance slip that arrived in schools today contains a curiosity. The remittance slip states that the grant is for 2022 and 2023. I ask the Minister to confirm that the minor works grant for schools next year will still be at least €30 million, as it was this year, and that schools will not have to choose between installing HEPA filters and doing bathroom renovations, not only for next year but for the year after that too? Will there be the same minor works grant for schools in 2022 as there was intended to be this year, or is that extra money being taken from the 2023 budget?
Comment on this
I have had a fair bit of engagement with the Minister for Education in relation to this issue in recent weeks. The minor works grant is normally paid in November or December. It is normally at a level of around €30 million for primary schools, as the Deputy has acknowledged. What was announced and paid out is a sum of €62 million, which is more than double the grant in total. The €30 million element of it - let us call it the normal minor works grant - is the 2021 allocation. It is not an advanced payment of next year's grant. We have provided substantial extra minor works grants to schools over the last two years to address the genuine issues that arise for them in adapting classrooms and making their schools as safe as possible for the pupils and the staff. I am happy to clarify the point for the Deputy. As the Deputy is aware, we have also provided minor works grants for secondary schools as part of this announcement.
Comment on this
That is not the clarification I was asking for.
