1108. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the average expenditure of schools on electricity and heating in each of the years from 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, by county, in tabular form. [59799/26]

My Department collates available data from school authorities as part of broader efforts to provide for an efficient and effective education system.

The FSSU operates and collects school financial data in accordance with Department of Education and Youth Circular 0060/2017 (Primary), and Circular 0002/2018 (Voluntary and Community and Comprehensive).

My Department collates financial data relating to primary, voluntary secondary, and community and comprehensive schools. This information is submitted by schools to the FSSU, with an extract being provided to my officials. The data collated by FSSU is provided by individual schools and as such is subject to certain data quality limitations. Furthermore, the data provided to my Department does not include fee-charging or Education and Training Board (ETB) schools.

My Department does not currently hold school financial data for the 2025/26 school year, as schools are not required to submit their accounts to the FSSU until 28 February 2027.

The table below provides a breakdown of the ‘Light and Power Costs’ and ‘Heating Costs’ from 2021 to 2025 in tabular form.

Table 1: Median energy expenditure (€) 2021 - 2025

The information available to my Department is set out in the table above, and my officials will continue to monitor relevant data as it becomes available. I remain committed to ensuring that our education system is sustainable, resilient and responsive to the needs of school communities.