Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The system for allocating teachers to primary schools is based on ensuring an overall maximum class of 29 in each school. While some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is generally because a decision has been taken at local level to use their teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes.

The Deputy should note that significant improvements have been made in this area in recent years. The average class size at primary level is now 23.9, down from 26.6 in the 1996-7 school year. The pupil-teacher ratio, which includes all teachers in the school, including resource teachers, has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-7 school year to 17.44:1 in 2003-04. Some 4,000 additional teachers have been employed in primary schools since 1997. These additional teaching posts have been used to reduce class sizes, tackle educational disadvantage and provide additional resources for children with special needs. Significantly smaller class sizes have been introduced in disadvantaged schools involved in the Giving Children an Even Break and Breaking the Cycle programme, with approximately 47,700 pupils in 243 participating schools availing of reduced class sizes of either 15 or 20 pupils per class.

In line with Government policy, my Department will continue to provide further reductions in the pupil-teacher ratio within available resources and subject to spending priorities within the education sector. Priority will be given to pupils with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas and in junior classes. The primary sector has experienced a shortage of trained teachers in recent years, mainly because of the creation of the large number of posts which I have outlined. The difficulties being experienced were aggravated by the number of teachers availing of career breaks and job-sharing schemes.

It is important to acknowledge that the colleges of education have done much to increase the output of primary teachers to meet the needs of schools arising from significant additional teacher allocations in recent years. Since 1999, more than 1,000 students have been admitted annually to the BEd programme in the colleges of education. Since the 1995-6 academic year, an 18 month postgraduate course has been provided in the colleges. The total intake to the colleges of education in the current academic year is approximately 1,280 students. This compares with an intake of 500 in 1996-7. There are 3,500 students enrolled and pursuing various stages of primary teacher training programmes in the colleges of education. In addition, graduates of the new primary teacher training course, which is being accredited by HETAC and delivered by Hibernia College, an on-line third level educational company, will be recognised for the purposes of primary teaching.

See this speech in context