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

Under the budget 2012 measures the minimum threshold for a two-teacher school is now 20 pupils. However, if a school is the only school on an island, the pupil threshold for it to remain as a two-teacher school is eight pupils.

The number of one-teacher schools over the last five years has varied between four and eight schools. In the 2008-09 school year, there were eight schools, the number reduced to four in the 2010-11 school year and rose to eight again in the past year. I am arranging to have the full tabular details provided to the Deputy in regard to this matter.

I would say, however, that the day to day running of a school, including with just one full-time teacher, is a matter for the board of management of each school. Schools are required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of pupils and to participate in supervising pupils when the pupils are on the school premises during school time and-or on school activities.

I do not yet have the complete information relating to the current school year, however, I can tell the Deputy, from the preliminary information available to me, there are 60 mainland schools below the threshold of 20 pupils and of seven island schools that are below the threshold of 20 pupils, four of the schools are two-teacher schools. There are two island schools below the threshold of eight pupils. The complete information in regard to all schools will be placed on the Department's website in June of this year.

Table showing the number of one-teacher schools over the five-year period 2008-9 to 2012-13

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