Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government contains a commitment to reintroduce guidance counselling to secondary schools.

The current budget provides an improved staffing allocation to second level schools for the purpose of enhancing guidance provision. This improvement takes effect from next September. It brings the basis of allocation from 19:1 to 18.7:1 for the 2016-2017 school year. This improvement of 0.3 in the pupil-teacher ratio, PTR, allocation is a restoration of 50% of the teaching resources that were removed when the allocation of guidance posts was brought within quota.

The delivery of the 50% restoration through a change in the staffing schedule will allow each school to determine how best to allocate the additional resources to meet the guidance needs of the school. The circular issued earlier this year by my Department outlining the allocation of teaching resources clearly stated that this additional resource is to complement existing resources in order to best meet the guidance needs of the school in line with the school's guidance plan.

At the time of the guidance cuts, all 195 second-level schools in DEIS were given targeted support by a more favourable staffing schedule of 18.25:1. This was a 0.75 point improvement compared to the current PTR of 19:1 that applies in non-fee-paying second-level schools.

That was a very important protection for the cohort of our schools in DEIS most in need of support. DEIS schools will also further benefit from the 0.3 improvement to the staffing schedule which will give them an enhanced allocation on the basis of 17.95:1 in respect of the coming school year.

In the next budget I will consider the best approach to further meeting the commitments in the programme for Government.

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