Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not know whether the Government will increase the pupil-teacher ratio next week. The Minister probably knows by now whether that will happen. If a decision is made to go down that road, can we get an assurance that some sort of impact analysis has been done on the effect an increase will have on schools?

We already have 23% of pupils being taught in classrooms of more than 30 pupils. I have all the figures. In my area of County Cork, we have one class of 41 pupils while in Monaghan there is another with more than 40. If we are looking to increase the pupil-teacher ratio, we must first recognise that there is a difference between pupil-teacher ration and class sizes. Has the Department analysed what effect any proposed increase would have? If so, will the Minister confirm what has been done?

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