Ireland: Details of €11.8 billion education funding in budget 2025
The Irish government has announced a record €11.8 billion investment in education for budget 2025, a 9% increase from last year. Key highlights include extending the free schoolbooks scheme, increasing per-pupil funding, adding special education staff, and introducing wellbeing initiatives. This budget aims to enhance learning outcomes and support an inclusive education system.
Ireland’s Minister for Education, along with the Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion and the Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education announced details of an unprecedented €11.8 billion investment in education and schools in Budget 2025, an increase of some 9 per cent on the same figure in Budget 2024.
The key features of the budget include:
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Extension of the free schoolbooks scheme to students in transition and senior cycle years
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Significant increase in school funding with state funding per pupil
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Additional cost of living supports for all primary, special and post-primary schools in the free scheme to help them deal with increased costs.
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An additional 768 special education teachers and 1,600 special needs assistants to support children across mainstream, special classes and special schools
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A new wellbeing initiative designed to support schools to implement bans on the use of mobile phones by post-primary school students during the school day, building on the success of the ‘Keeping Childhood Smartphone Free’ initiative
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A package of measures to ensure that our schools continue to have a supply of excellent teachers, including a bursary for student teachers to increase the number of qualified Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths teachers in post-primary schools, and continued funding for free upskilling courses for teachers in high-demand subject areas
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Additional funding to tackle educational disadvantage, with more educational supports available for children in alternative school settings and the roll-out of the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy
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Additional funding for the School Transport Scheme
For more information: Main Features of Budget 2025 Department of Education
Source: Eurydice Unit Ireland
