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Chapter 2 — Finance

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Adequacy of funding

114

Carriglea also had references to the sound state of its finances. In 1936, the Visitor stated: ‘the Institution is in a sound state financially’. In 1937, the bursar was instructed that ‘The salaries of the Brothers should be debited against the school just as are the salaries of other officers of the Institution’.

115

Visitation Reports throughout the 1940s criticised the lack of proper book-keeping in Carriglea, although such figures as could be extracted indicated that the school was making a surplus for most of the years it operated. In 1951, it was again described as appearing to be ‘in a sound financial position’.

116

In 1953 the Visitor remarked: With almost £11,000 to its credit in the Bank and £4000 in the Building Fund, the financial position of the establishment is satisfactory. By some judicious method this £11,000 should be transferred to the Building Fund. To transfer it all by one cheque might not be desirable, as the Government – and possibly other parties also – seem to be anxious to probe into the financial position of industrial schools.

117

In 1954, the Visitor stated: The finances of this institution....are in a very sound condition. There is a sum of £16,000 invested in the Building Fund....

118

There was little in the Visitation Reports of Carriglea to indicate an institution struggling to survive financially.

119

In 1954, the numbers in Letterfrack were reduced substantially in order to restrict that Institution to boys convicted of criminal offences. Prior to 1954, it was not a very large school with numbers ranging from 130 to 170. In 1954, the Superior observed: Financially you are solvent but it is evident that there is not a whole lot of money to spare when one considers the need for expenditure.

120

In 1955 however, the Visitor stated: The finances for the year 1954 are remarkably satisfactory. The total credit balance rose from £3117 14.5 to £3573.0.1. There was a surplus income in the school a/c of £914.7.4 in spite of an abnormal purchase of a car for £521.

121

By 1956, the situation had deteriorated, but even then the Visitor sounded a note of optimism: ‘With growing numbers his [the Manager’s] position is gradually though slowly improving.’

122

In 1960, the Visitor remarked: The financial position of the establishment is not too sound but if the numbers can be maintained about their present level [110] the place could carry on.

123

That forecast proved correct. In 1962 the Visitor observed: One wonders why the financial position of this house is not bad considering all the repairs and renovations which have been carried out during the past four years. If the various County Councils pay up their portion of the contribution due, the house should be solvent at the end of the year.

124

The financial situation was described as ‘sound’ in 1962 and ‘by no means bad’ in 1964. By 1972, the Visitor could state: Both house and school are in good financial condition. On December 30 1972, there was a balance of 12,000 pounds in the house accounts and of 15,000 pounds in the school account.

125

Letterfrack closed the following year.

126

These extracts from the Congregations’ Visitors do not indicate a chronic shortage of funds in Letterfrack. The shortage that was encountered by the reduction in numbers appears to have been quickly made up. Letterfrack, like all Industrial Schools, was largely dependent on the capitation allowance and it appears that even at a time of reduced numbers, this was sufficient to generate a substantial surplus by 1972.

127

In 1940, the Visitor to Tralee Industrial School made the following observation arising out of the separation of the Industrial School, St Joseph’s, from the larger Community of Brothers who lived in the adjoining monastery of St Mary’s: The only debt on the establishment is the sum of £600 due to St Mary’s Tralee. At the time the two Communities were separated it was arranged that St Joseph’s should contribute to St Mary’s £600 annually to help towards liquidating the debt on the new secondary school. This sum has been paid regularly up to 1938 but has not been paid for the year 1939.

128

In 1938, the total school grants to St Joseph’s amounted to £2,616 and £600 was a substantial portion of that. St Mary’s Secondary school was a completely separate institution and none of the boys from St Joseph’s attended it.

Footnotes
  1. Quoted in D of E submission, pp 103-4.
  2. Report of Commission of Inquiry into the Reformatory and Industrial School System, 1934-36, paras 165-7.
  3. These reforms are explained in a cogent six page Minute of 14th March 1944 written by the Department (Ó Dubhthaigh, Leas Runai) to the Runai, Department of Finance. The Minute also questioned the certification system’s legality:
  4. There is no justification for the ‘Certificate’ system. The Children Acts, 1908 to 1941, lay down the circumstances in which children may be committed to industrial schools. The Courts commit children to them in accordance with these Acts. At this stage the Certificate system operates inconsistently to allow payment of the State Grant on some of the children so committed and to forbid it on others. There seems to be no reason for the State’s failure to contribute to the support of some arbitrary number of those children. No such distinction is made, for instance, in the case of youthful offenders committed to Reformatories under the same Acts or of people sent to jail. If the purpose is to limit the number of children to which the Children Acts may apply, its legality is questionable.
  5. Memo of 4th April 1951 from M O’Siochfradha states:
  6. In all cases the actual accommodation limit was greater than the certified number and in many cases it was considerably greater viz., Glin – accommodation 220, certified number 190; Letterfrack, accommodation 190, certified number 165; Artane, accommodation 830, certified number 800.
  7. See also Education Statement, para 3.2.
  8. At certain periods (e.g. 1940s) anxious consideration was given to the question of how many places to certify – whether to raise or lower the previous year’s figure or to leave it the same. Among the factors weighing with the person taking the decision (usually there was a significant contribution from Dr McCabe) was: the numbers of committals anticipated; the suitability of the schools (e.g. accessibility from Dublin); the need to assist small schools with disproportionately high overheads; a desire to avoid creating jealousy among the schools.
  9. Data provided by Mazars indicates that a single man at the lowest point of the salary scale was paid £145 in 1944.
  10. Appendices to the Mazars’ Report are included on the Commissions website (www.childabusecommission.ie)
  11. Mazars, Part 4.1.
  12. Mazars, Part 4.2.3.
  13. Section 44 of the Children Act 1908.
  14. Mazars, Part 4.2.3.
  15. Mazars, Part 4.3.1.
  16. Mazars, Part 4.3.1.
  17. Mazars, Part 4.3.1.
  18. Mazars, Part 4.4.2.
  19. Mazars, Part 4.4.3.
  20. Mazars, Part 4.4.4.
  21. Mazars, Part 4.4.4.
  22. Mazars ‘Analysis of Stipends in Lieu of Salaries & Teachers’ Pay, March 2008’.
  23. Mazars, Part 8.2.
  24. That is approx £69,000 out of a total of £726,881.
  25. That is £251,000 out of £726,881.
  26. Mazars, Part 8.2.
  27. Mazars, Part 7.2.
  28. Mazars, Part 5.1.
  29. Mazars, Part 5.1.
  30. Mazars, Part 5.2.
  31. Mazars, Part 5.2.
  32. Mazars, Part 5.2.
  33. Mazars, Part 5.2.
  34. Mazars, Part 5.4.
  35. Submission of the Christian Brothers on the Review of Financial Matters Relating to the System of the Reformatory and Industrial Schools, and a Number of Individual Institutions 1939 to 1969 - Appendices to the Mazars’ Report are included on the Commissions website (www.childabusecommission.ie).
  36. Ciaran Fahy Report: see Vol I, ch 7, Appendix.
  37. Mazars, Part 7.2.
  38. Mazars, Part 7.2.
  39. Mazars, Part 7.2.
  40. Mazars, Part 7.2.
  41. Mazars, Part 7.2.
  42. Mazars, Part 7.4.
  43. Mazars, Part 8.2.
  44. Mazars, Part 8.2.
  45. Mazars, Part 8.2.
  46. Mazars, Part 8.2.
  47. Mazars, Part 8.4.
  48. Mazars, Part 6.4.
  49. Mazars, Part 6.4.
  50. Mazars, Part 6.4.
  51. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 13.
  52. Rosminian Final Submissions, pp 13-14.
  53. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 17.
  54. Rosminian Final Submissions, pp 17-18. Cf p 19.
  55. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 19.
  56. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 17.
  57. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 20.
  58. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 22.
  59. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 23.
  60. Mazars, Part 9.2.
  61. Rosminian Final Submissions, p 15.