Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

My Department provides specific teaching resources and additional grant aid to schools that offer the transition year programme. An additional teacher allocation is given to each school offering the programme, based on a pupil-teacher ratio of 18.5:1 for DEIS schools, 19:1 for schools in the free education scheme and 21:1 for fee-charging schools. Schools in the free education scheme also qualify for payment of a transition year grant of €95 for each pupil participating in the programme.

The cost of transition year grants in 2012 was €2.7 million. My Department allocated approximately 1,700 whole-time equivalent teaching posts in the 2012-2013 school year in respect of transition year, with an estimated cost of €109 million.

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