Educational support services received a boost this evening with the announcement of a £42 million allocation for caretaking and secretarial support in schools.
Announcing the two-year funding initiative, Minister for Education and Science, Dr Michael Woods, said: "this has been made possible through the transfer by an Tánaiste of £46m from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to my Department.
The Tánaiste, Mary Harney, said, "at this stage of our economic development it is entirely appropriate that these services be delivered by those Government Departments with functional responsibility for the areas concerned, rather than through FÁS under CE schemes."
The new funding will provide an increase in the ancillary services for all primary and postprimary schools, even those which would not have benefited before under CE schemes.
Dr Woods continued "an important element of the initiative is that it will remove certain anomalies which exist in relation to the provision of secretarial and caretaking services to schools."
Some £32m will be transferred to the Department of Education in the next school year with the remained being transferred during 2003.