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

Since September 2012, guidance provision is organised by school management from within the staffing schedule allocation. In this way principals have discretion to balance guidance needs with the pressures to provide subject choice. I acknowledge that bringing guidance within quota is challenging for schools, but the alternative was an increase in the 19:1 pupil-teacher ratio. My Department helped shelter the impact of the budgetary measure for DEIS post-primary schools by improving their pupil-teacher ratio to 18.25:1.

The survey quoted by the Deputy is focused on guidance counsellors and, in particular, on the time spent by them in a one-to-one setting giving career guidance and student counselling. It is important to note that guidance is a whole-school activity that does not just involve the guidance counsellor. Wherever possible, group work and class-based activity should be used to maximise the amount of time available for those pupils who are in most need of one-to-one support.

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