122 entries for Finance

Sufficient funding was provided to meet the basic needs of the children in Carriglea, but it was not entirely devoted to that purpose. The Christian Brothers spent money on Carriglea just before it closed as an industrial school and opened as a juniorate for the Order.

In his report on Glin, Br McCormack stated that from the mid-1960s the grant paid by the State was insufficient to meet the needs of the Institution. He concluded: That this was the state of the School’s finances in the last two years of its existence speaks volumes for the inadequacy of Government funding over the years.

By 1963, numbers in Glin had fallen dramatically: in 1966 when it closed, there were only 48 boys in residence. Because State grants were paid on a per capita basis, a fall in numbers had an inevitable impact on finances, and the Brothers were left with no alternative but to close down schools once they became uneconomical to run.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, however, numbers were sufficiently high to ensure an adequate income for the Institution, and this was particularly so after 1944 when the State grants were made payable on the accommodation limit of the School rather than the certified limit. For Glin, this meant an increase of per capita payments from 140 to 214. During this period, conditions for the boys in Glin were poor and in no respect reflected the funding that was available to the Institution.

The Visitation Reports for the period were not consistent in respect of financial information. The 1941 Report recorded a payment of £330 to the Manager, £200 to the Sub-Manager, and £120 to each of the five other Brothers working in the School. This represented approximately 25% of the State funding, which amounted to £5,014. It reflected a pattern seen in other industrial schools, where substantial sums were paid to the Community account for the maintenance of Brothers and of the Congregation. The figures for 1940 were unusually high and there is no explanation as to why. Subsequent Visitation Reports recorded sums paid into the Building Fund and, by the time the School closed, it had £7,000 invested in the Building Fund and a credit balance of £2,427 in the bank. The sums invested in the Building Fund were ‘excess funds’ from the Institution.

In 1959 the Visitor expressed concern at the state of disrepair of the School during his Visitation, although he noted that ‘repairs are out of the question owing to falling numbers and meagre government grants’. However he advised that the fire escape, which was in a dangerous condition, be attended to as it presented a danger and ‘could scarcely be used in an emergency’. He queried the unusually high level of failure at the Primary Certificate examinations, and noted that the children were weak at arithmetic.

As in other Christian Brothers’ schools, both the children and the Community were supported out of the capitation grants. Very little information was available in the Visitation Reports but, in one year, the figures were set out in detail. In 1943, £1,600 was allocated to the nine Brothers in the School by way of stipend. In that same year, the three teaching Brothers received £214, or £71 each, by way of salary from the Department of Education.

The financial position depended on the number of children, and in 1960 the Visitor noted that, ‘As the numbers are being maintained the finances are satisfactory’.

In 1947, the Visitor observed that: ‘Apart from Government grants ..., rent, shops and farm contributed substantially to the funds’. Notwithstanding this, in 1951, the Visitor referred to the serious disadvantage caused by the lack of a farm. There was insufficient land attached to the Institution to allow it to be self-sufficient in terms of food.

During the relevant period, funding for the boys in Salthill was adequate to meet their basic needs.

The Visitor in May 1943 was shocked at the state of disrepair and low standard of cleanliness of the premises, which he put down to wartime conditions, low finances, and a certain lack of energy on the part of the Superior due to his ill-health. The Report noted a lack of cleanliness in the boys’ bedclothes, but reserved its main criticism for their eating facilities and implements: The boys’ refectory is the part of the institution most lacking in cleanliness. The floor is in a bad condition. The oil cloth covering the tables is old dirty and in places ragged. The forms are dirty and badly need scrubbing. The plates and mugs are of aluminium and have the undersides dirty and greasy. Some of the mugs are of tin showing signs of rust. The plates that were once enamelled have a wretched appearance. The Brother in charge has too little to do but he is dirty and lazy ... The impression produced is that St. Joseph’s is a neglected place inhabited by people devoid of a sense of cleanliness. Some cleanup may have been done in preparation for the visitor and the ordinary condition may be worse that what I describe so that if a Government Inspector came unannounced and made a close inspection his report would be very damaging and would bring shame upon us.

It was clear to Br Ames that big changes had to be made, and he decided that the place should be changed into residential homes. He stated that he failed to get funding for the work from the Department of Education and so went to the bank and borrowed £15,000. The Department of Education discovery, however, indicated that, in 1974, ‘The Home was remodelled interiorly at a cost of £8,000 £6,000 of a grant was given by the Dep. of Education’.

Cabra was both a boarding school and a day school, but the majority of children who attended were boarders. They came from all parts of the country including Northern Ireland. The numbers of children boarding fell from almost 100% in 1938 to less than half in 1998. In the mid-1970s, funding was made available which made it easier for pupils to travel home at weekends. Prior to that, boarders would generally only go home during the school holidays. The authorities in Northern Ireland organised escorts for the children on their journey home, but the same facility was not available for children from the State.

Although some parents did pay fees for their children in Cabra, most of the costs were covered either by the State or by the Catholic Institute for the Deaf. The Hospitals Act, 1939 made provision for deaf schools to get funding from the Hospitals Commission, subject to a number of conditions, one of which was the entitlement of officials in the Department of Health to inspect the School. Annual capitation grants were provided by the Department of Education and the equivalent department in Northern Ireland. The School today receives some funding from the Department of Education and the Catholic Institute.

This position continued into the early 1960s and, in 1962, the Visitor noted that, between the capitation grants and the salaries paid to the Brothers, ‘there is a considerable income to the school’.