Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The only way to ensure that schools due to gain a teacher next year gain that teacher now would be by ensuring that schools which are due to lose a teacher next year would lose that teacher now. This is a result of the panel system, whereby schools must take their staff from the panel. That would not be fair either. The current system is probably a good way of dealing with this, as long as there is a good appeals process, which I believe there is.

The appeals process operates twice during the year, in July and at the end of the first week in October. It ensures that developing schools, for example, schools that have gained huge numbers of pupils, can make their appeal and be given the teachers they require. Other circumstances are also examined. It is particularly important that schools which are developing quickly and taking in large numbers should get the teachers they require immediately. Generally, however, because of the panel system, it is not possible to allocate the extra teachers without also removing the teachers from the schools that are due to lose teachers.

I intend to continue to work towards reducing class sizes. It was my intention, in the first instance, to do it with disadvantaged schools. We have done that and I will continue this year to reduce class sizes further for those schools.

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