Mr. Hubert Loftus:

No. This year, there will be around 400 extra teachers going on the payroll compared to last year because of the change in demographics. The last budget measure that tried to ease the impact on the school system generally, the Department, payroll costs and teacher numbers focused solely on fee-charging schools in the post-primary sector, instituting a two-point increase in their staffing schedule from 21:1 to 23:1. Previously, they were at 19:1. What the various budget measures over the years, including this one, have done is to help steady the ship in terms of the number of extra teachers required to cater for changing demographics.