Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

Could the Minister inform the House of comments he made about the English language support teachers? I understand he will issue a circular to schools setting out a process through which they will know exactly how many will be lost. He stated at budget time that he would consider on a case-by-case basis the number of English language support teachers. This is an issue of considerable concern in schools.

Am I correct that there is a redeployment scheme in the primary sector but there is no such scheme in post-primary education? The Minister is trying to negotiate a redeployment scheme, but with no agreement on such a scheme, how can he possibly implement the loss of 200 posts in post-primary education?

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