Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I agree with the Deputy about the challenges arising from rapidly increasing enrolments in our schools. That is why certain budgetary measures regarding teacher allocations have been introduced and further measures will be required in future years in order to manage teacher payroll costs. My Department is projecting that enrolments at second level will continue to rise over the next decade, peaking around the year 2025. My Department is also projecting that enrolments at second level will then start to reduce back closer to current levels. If the current 19:1 staffing ratio is unchanged, this will indeed generate a requirement for an additional 3,000 teachers by the year 2025. The Government has prioritised, as best as possible, the filling of front-line posts in the education sector. However, the number of teaching posts we can afford to fund in schools in the coming years must operate within the context of the country's capacity to fund itself.

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