BUMPER funding to recruit 1,500 more special needs assistants, expand the free school books scheme to all students and build a significant number of new schools is on the cards for Budget 2025, the Irish Sun can reveal.
Government leaders are in the closing stages of negotiating Budget 2025 with the final bilateral talks between the ministers due to be carried out over the coming week.
The Irish Sun understands that reducing the cost of sending kids to school along with significantly expanding supports for children with special needs will be central to the education budget next year.
Government leaders are keen to expand the popular free school books scheme to all students with a final decision expected to be signed off by Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.
The move to ensure Leaving Cert cycle students have access to free school books will save families around €500 a year.
It’s expected to cost around €70m a year to implement.
Last year, the scheme was expanded to the junior cycle in secondary schools and will now be increased to 5th and 6th years – meaning that this coalition made school books free for all students.
There will also be significant funding to expand the hot meals programme which sees some primary school children provided with a free lunch.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys is fighting for funding to expand this scheme to all primary schools across the country as part of a rapid expansion.
The Irish Sun can also reveal that Education Minister Norma Foley is pushing for funding to significantly increase the number of special needs classes that are available across the country.
The Fianna Fail minister is targeting an increase of 1,500 more special needs assistants to help provide these supports – a demand that will cost around €50 million.
A source said: “Throughout the life of this coalition, Fianna Fail have been focused on helping families with back to school costs by bringing in this free book scheme. Free books for all ages will be a key legacy of this government when it comes to education.
“There has also been a significant increase in demand for special needs classes in recent years and the Government want to try to address this by ramping up supports and bringing in a lot more SNAs.”
Last year, special education measures made up €2.7 billion of the Department of Education’s €10.4bn budget.
The allocation for special needs supports is expected to significantly increase for 2025.
NEW SCHOOL HOPES
The Government will also set aside major funding from the €3bn AIB fund for new infrastructure projects with Minister Foley fighting to secure some of this cash to build a significant number of new schools across the country.
As the number of new homes being built across the country continues to increase, there is a need to develop schools to cater for these new estates.
While the allocation of funding for the construction of new schools has yet to be finalised, it’s understood the Minister is pushing for enough cash to build hundreds of new schools.
SEVEN MAJOR MONEY CHANGES IN SEPTEMBER
THERE are seven upcoming money changes that should ease the pain on people’s pockets this month, including a €462 payment set to be paid in just weeks.
Electricity & Gas Price Cut
Electric Ireland has confirmed that it will cut its electricity and gas prices from November 1.
The country’s biggest electricity provider confirmed that both its standard unit rate of electricity and standard gas rate will be reduced by three per cent for over 1.2 million customers.
This will save households around €45 a year on their electricity and €40 a year on their gas on average.
Clothing and Footwear Allowance
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is a payment to help families buy clothing and shoes for their children returning to school.
Children ages four to 11 are eligible for a payment rate of €160 while a child aged 12 to 22 will see a payment of €285.
Most eligible parents will have had to allowance paid out automatically – but you can apply up until September 30 on your My Welfare account if you have not received it.
Fuel Allowance
The Fuel Allowance is a major payment aimed at covering the cost of heating your home for a 28 week period from September to April and will be paid out to thousands on September 23, 2024.
To qualify for the payment you must be over 70 or getting a qualifying social welfare payment and satisfy a means test while living alone or with one of the exceptions listed here.
It can be paid out for 28 weeks in €33 payments which you will receive with your other social welfare payments but people can opt to receive the amount in two lump sums of €462.
Student Grants
Maintenance grants for students are set to increase by €615 for all non-adjacent rates and by 10 per cent for adjacent rates.
There is also changes to the postgraduate tuition fee grant which will increase by €1,000 for students in the 2023/2024 academic year.
And students who qualify for the Free Fees Scheme, will see the Student Contribution be reduced by €1,000 in the 2023/2024 academic year. Those who have already paid will receive a refund.
From this month the income threshold to qualify for the 100 per cent Student Contribution will increase to €55,924.
Hot School Meals
In July, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys announced an additional 168 primary schools would receive Hot School Meals in the term starting in September 2024.
This means 345,000 primary school children are now eligible to receive hot school lunches.
Childcare Scheme
The National Childcare Scheme’s subsidy, which can be used with any childcare provider who is participating and it paid directly to them, will increase from this month.
From September 2, 2024 the minimum rate for the National Childcare Scheme subsidies increased from €1.40 to €2.14 per hour.
Free Book Scheme
An extension of the Free School Books Scheme means parents and guardians of students in Junior Cycle years in post-primary schools should not be asked to buy or rent any school books in the 2024/2025 school year under the scheme.
This applies to students enrolled in secondary schools in the Free Education Scheme and will see free schoolbooks and core classroom resources provided.
