Posted by SchoolDays Newshound on 10/10/2023. 
Tags: Education And Politics Teachers Parenting
A total of €10.5 billion has been allocated to the Department of Education for 2024, This will include:
Free schoolbooks to be provided for first three years of secondary school (iPads & private schools not included)
Fees will be waived for school State exams next year.
There will be a once-off student contribution fee reduction of €1,000
Families with an income of less than €100,000 will have college fees for undergraduate students halved to €1,500,
Student Grants to increase by €300
Schools will receive a once off additional cost of living funding of €61m to help meet day-to-day expenses, known as capitation.
An additional €20 million has been allocated in core capitation funding
An additional €50 million for the school transport scheme
Fee waiver in place on school transport services for a further year
Hot school meals programme to be expanded to a further 900 primary schools in April 2024
Budget provides for 740 additional teachers and 1,200 Special Needs Assistants.
Childcare and Family
Childcare fees are set to be cut by a further 25% late next year for those availing of the National Childcare Scheme
A one-off €100 will be paid to those in receipt of the Qualified Child Payment.
The reduction in public transport ticket prices for the Youth Adult Card has been extended for 2024 with 24 & 25 year olds becoming eligible
Electricity credits for all households totalling €450 to be paid in three instalments of €150
An extra child benefit payment to be paid before Christmas with a double welfare and pension payment to be paid in January.
A €12 increase in all social welfare rates and pension payments from January.
Child benefit will be extended to 18 year olds who are still in full-time education
Parents benefit will be extended to nine weeks for August 2024
Foster Care rates to rise by €75 per week for children under 12 and €73 for those over 12
The Disability Services Budget in 2024 will include:
€20.5m in extra funding for disability residential services for adults and children to deliver approximately 100 new residential places
€10m in respite services to build on existing provision, to provide more alternative respite such as in homes, after-school and deliver new or enhanced services to families
€8.5m to improve children’s services including the recruitment of additional therapy positions, increasing third level places and supports for specialist children’s disability services
€18.2m for placements in adult day services for 1,250-1400 young people leaving school in 2024 and €23.7m in funding to provide for the full cost of school leavers in 2023
€2m additional funding in Personal Assistant services to promote independent living, delivering around 80,000 additional hours, continued investment in Home Support services, and €1.4m for specialist community supports for people with neurological impairments
In addition, Capital investment of €23.7m will provide for the upgrade and development of disability services
Updated 11/12/23 with statement below from Minister for Education
For full details of Education initiatives click here
Minister for Education Norma Foley TD, along with Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan TD and Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne TD, today announced details of an unprecedented €10.5 billion investment in Education and Schools in Budget 2024.
Budget 2024 provides an increase of €421 million in core current funding, as well as over €80 million in core capital funding. An additional €170 million is also being provided as part of Cost of Living and COVID-19 supports. These additional funds build on significant increases in recent budgets and further enhance the investment in Ireland’s primary and post-primary education system. The significant increased investment is the largest Education budget in the history of the state and reflects government’s commitment to a quality inclusive school system and improved learning outcomes for every student.
The key features include:
Some €67 million funding for free schoolbooks and classroom resources for Junior Cycle students. This will bring total investment in free school books at primary and post-primary school level to some €115 million.
Over €20 million in additional capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day-to-day running costs. This will support a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools, bringing the basic rate of capitation to €200 per student in primary schools and to €345 in post-primary schools.
In addition, to particularly support schools this year with inflationary pressures, Minister Foley has secured an additional €60 million in cost of living supports, which will be paid to all primary and post-primary schools in the free scheme.
€92 million in additional funding for the School Transport Scheme to provide additional places for children with special educational needs, increased bus contractor costs and a continued reduction in school transport fees.
€82 million for an additional 1,216 Special Needs Assistants and 744 additional Special Educational Needs Teachers in classrooms providing for 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs.
Provision of an additional €11 million for special schools catering for children with special educational needs to remove the threshold for the appointment of an Administrative Deputy Principal and provide for a further 100 teaching posts.
€20 million in funding for the Enhanced Summer Programme totalling €40 million for summer 2024.
Additional allocation for curricular reforms, which includes funding for the accelerated roll out of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme and the delivery of additional physical activity initiatives in schools.
Additional allocation for social inclusion measures, including enhancing the capacity of the Tusla Education Support Services and additional educational welfare officer posts.
Provision made for the pilot counselling services to continue for another year.
Actions to address teacher supply issues through an incentive scheme to partially refund future Professional Masters in Education (PME) fees and additional upskilling teacher programmes for in demand subjects.
Additional posts of responsibility allocated to assist the leadership and management in schools.
A capital allocation of €940 million for 2024 for the addition of essential capacity in schools through building new schools and the rollout of additional accommodation in existing schools.
Under Project Ireland 2040, the school sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025.
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Statement from ASTI
‘Budget 2024 – a missed opportunity’ – ASTI President
Budget 2024 does not address the big issues in education requiring urgent investment such as class size, teacher shortages and school guidance/ counselling services, according to ASTI President Geraldine O’Brien.
The OECD Education at a Glance 2023 report reveals that Ireland is in last place out of 36 countries for investment in second-level education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The report also shows that actual expenditure per second-level student in Ireland is below the OECD and EU averages.
Commenting on Budget 2024, Ms O’Brien said:
“We are extremely disappointed and concerned that despite the fact that schools are struggling to fill vacant teaching positions and students are in too large classes, the Budget does not address the big issues. It is a missed opportunity.”
“Modern curricula require that significant practical, collaborative, and experiential work takes place in the classroom. This is not sustainable in overcrowded classes. Teachers are simply not able to give every student the attention they require.”
Student numbers increasing
The ASTI notes 740 additional teaching posts across primary and second-level schools. These teaching posts relate to demographic changes including an increase in the number of students attending second-level schools. Therefore, there will be no reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio.
School books
The ASTI President welcomed the announcement regarding free school books for Junior Cycle students. However, the ASTI is disappointed that the one-off additional funding for schools this year has been reduced from €90 million in 2023 to €61 million in 2024. Schools struggled to survive on last year’s allocation.
School middle management
The Minister for Education Norma Foley had indicated a movement in middle management provision in second-level schools at ASTI Annual Convention, which she stated would be subject to budget constraints, and it is extremely disappointing that this has not been delivered upon in Budget 2024. Schools are surviving with skeletal management structures.
“It is almost a decade and a half since austerity measures wreaked havoc for management structures in schools,” said Geraldine O’Brien.
“The Government must restore middle management posts to pre-austerity levels. Many of these posts relate to student pastoral care in schools.”