£12million allocated as part of an internal October monitoring exercise – O’Dowd

Education Minister John O’Dowd has allocated £12million to areas under pressure in the education sector as part of an internal October monitoring exercise carried out within his Department.

School maintenance has had a £9million boost, with Furniture and Equipment for Capital Projects and Special Educational Needs getting over £1million each to deal with inescapable in year pressures.

As a result of prudent financial planning and management, additional finances are now available from within the DE budget to inject into front-line education services that are experiencing pressures.

John O’Dowd said:

“The education sector continues to deal with unprecedented financial pressures as a result of the £1.5billion reduction in the Executive’s budget from Westminster. I have taken every action possible to protect education funding and those frontline services within the Department’s remit.

School maintenance is an area which has been under considerable pressure. I am therefore pleased to be able to allocate £9million to ensure that repairs to the school estate are able to continue. This investment will be welcome news not only to schools but also those contractors and their employees contacted to carry out maintenance work/repairs.

With increasing numbers in special educational needs, this is also an area which requires additional funding.

I will continue to exercise prudent financial management to ensure money is directed where needed.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The Department of Education’s ‘Education Works’ campaign promotes the value of education. This year’s campaign aims to ensure that parents have information on schooling and that they are aware of the steps they can take to ‘Get Involved’ and support their teenager in achieving good outcomes at school. Watch out for the ads on television, radio and outdoor locations. The campaign highlights the vital role families can play in helping children do well at school and improve their life chances. Visit Education works - nidirect for more information or watch the TV ad on the Department’s YouTube channel.
2. See photos from the Department of Education in our collection on Flickr.
3. Media enquiries to the Department of Education Press Office Tel: 028 9127 9207. Out of office hours, contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 99 715 440, and your call will be returned.

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