Education:The Government will commit some €5 billion to the modernisation and development of more than 4,000 primary and second-level schools during the National Development Plan (NDP).
The money will also support new schools in rapidly growing areas after the Government was criticised by local communities in Dublin West, Laytown, Co Meath and Newbridge, Co Kildare over the failure to provide schools in new commuter areas.
At third level, in excess of €1.4 billion will be spent on infrastructural supports and over €10 billion on current spending during the plan. Significantly, some €510 million is being allocated to a new fund that rewards colleges for reform and/or cost-cutting measures.
These payments to the Strategic Innovation Fund will be reviewed in 2010 - and another €225 million will be made available if the fund is working well. This money will give university presidents an incentive to accelerate the pace of change in colleges, although UCD, TCD and UCC have opposed the reform process.
Other key highlights include:
Of the €5 billion for school modernisation, some €540 million will come from public/private partnerships (PPP) on school buildings;
€318 million investment in curriculum reform and professional development of teachers;
€252 million for information and communication technologies in schools;
€595 million in PPP investment for third-level colleges;
€1.5 billion of the investment in third-level will complement existing commitments under the Science, Technology and Innovation fund;
550 language support teachers for "newcomer children".
The NDP emphasises the need to reach out to those who feel excluded from formal and mainstream education. It will provide some €5.4 billion for people with special educational needs, but it is unclear how much of this is actually new funding.
There is also some €510 million for Traveller education and €574 million for programmes for young people who are alienated from formal education. The funding for schools comes at a time when the numbers at primary level are expected to increase by about 100,000 over the plan's seven-year duration. After years of declining enrolments, the number of post-primary pupils should also begin to increase in about 2011, according to the Department of Education's projections.
The rate of third-level participation, which has grown to 55 per cent of all school leavers, is also expected to increase significantly over the plan's duration. The NDP says the "success and strength of the higher education system will make a vital contribution to Ireland's future economic growth and competitiveness".
