Some of the parents in our school system are having to act like fundraisers because the schools are not fully funded. I know the Government has increased the capitation grant, which is welcome. However, having spoken to many different schools, DEIS schools in particular, I know that fundraising is very difficult because families are struggling with general day-to-day costs. The same is true in special schools. Parents are exhausted from the level of care needs. At what point in the future will we be able to get rid of these voluntary contributions altogether? They are there to help schools. We would love for the funding raised to pay for the icing-on-the-cake stuff but it is the bread-and-butter stuff the money is covering, including the heating, lighting and all that stuff. At what point will we be able to eliminate that altogether and be fully funded? I totally appreciate everything that has been said about budgets-----

I thank the Deputy. Time is up.

-----but I am wondering about forward planning. I thank the Minister.

The Minister to respond.

I thank the Deputy. Voluntary contributions are by their nature voluntary. It is up to each individual school to decide what it asks parents for. My objective as Minister is to ensure they have the support, funding and capitation they need for the day-to-day basics. That is why we recently increased the capitation. For next September, the rates for primary and post-primary schoolchildren will increase. Of course, there is a clear commitment in the programme for Government to increase that further. As I mentioned earlier, I want not just to see how we can increase funding for schools but also how we can reduce their overall costs. I do not just want to reduce the cost of electricity, lighting and heating but also the cost of insurance and costs in other areas. It will always be up to the school to decide whether or not it wants to ask parents for voluntary contributions, whether for school tours, technical equipment or otherwise. My objective is to ensure that in respect of the day-to-day costs of books, ICT equipment and other things, schools are supported and provided for through the annual budgets. Of course, this year's budget will be no different.