Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Deputy raising the question. As he will be aware, it was previously raised by another Deputy. It is a priority of mine and has been since I became Minister to reduce the pupil:teacher ratio, which we succeeded in doing, and also to address the points required for the retention of a teacher, which have fallen by three points this year. That is important and has proven to be of significant benefit to schools.

Primary schools are currently provided with class teachers on the basis of one teacher to 26 pupils which, as I said, is at an historical low. In the programme for Government, there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil-teacher ratios in primary schools and supporting small schools. As part of the budget, as I have outlined, we reduced it by one to 26:1 and introduced a three point reduction to retain a teacher. This announcement continues to build on this progress to date and for the 2021-22 school year, the staffing schedule will be on the basis of one teacher for every 25 pupils.

The latest figures for the pupil-teacher ratio show an improved ratio of students to teachers from 16:1 to 15:1 at primary level when comparing the 2015-16 school year to the 2019-20 school year. Average class sizes improved from 24.9 to 24.1 in the same period. The most recent budget announcement will continue the positive trend. The staffing schedule, which is at an historical low, will help to ensure better teacher retention in primary schools while also ensuring that fewer pupils are required to retain or recruit a teacher.

The new staffing schedule for 2021-22, taking account of the recent budget measure, was published last month and schools are in a position to establish what their staffing arrangements are for the 2021-22 school year. The new schedule has received a positive welcome from schools. It is an historical low. We would like at all points for it to be as low as possible but it is not possible to do it in one fell swoop. We will continue to work on it.

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