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

From September, there is an improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools that was provided for in the 2016 budget.

Decisions on the new schedule are taken independently by the appeals board. It is an independent decision and the board makes its decisions independent of the Minister.

On small schools, we were able to make a start this year for some island schools. We will continue to examine this issue as part of the programme for Government as resources become available.

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