Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 469: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will identify the 20 biggest primary and post-primary classes in the country; her plans to address big class sizes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3459/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The 2004 statistical returns from primary schools to my Department indicate that there were five classes with in excess of 40 pupils and 22 classes with between 38 and 39 pupils in the 2003-04 school year.

The system for allocating teachers to primary schools is based on ensuring an overall maximum class in the school size of 29. Where some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is generally because a decision has been taken at local level to use their teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes.

The Deputy should note that significant improvements have been made in this area in recent years. The average class size at primary level is now 23.9, down from 26.6 in 1996-97. The pupil-teacher ratio, which includes all the teachers in the school including resource teachers, has fallen from 22.2 to 1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44 to 1 in 2003-04. More than 4,000 additional teachers, including nearly 2,500 resource teachers have been employed in our primary schools since 1997. These additional teaching posts have been used to reduce class sizes, to tackle educational disadvantage and to provide additional resources for children with special needs.

Significantly smaller class sizes have been introduced in disadvantaged schools involved in the giving children an even break-breaking the cycle programme, with approximately 47,700 pupils in 243 participating schools availing of reduced class sizes of either 15 or 20 pupils per class. In line with the programme for Government commitment, class sizes for the under-nines will continue to be reduced further.

The specific information requested in relation to class size at post-primary level is not readily available within my Department. It is clear that class size at second level is influenced by a combination of factors such as school size, timetabling decisions, teacher allocation, subject expertise and the length of the school day, in addition to decisions made at individual school level of the basis of enrolments, the ability levels of pupils and the programmes offered. In practice, schools are accorded a considerable local discretion in the way in which they organise matters of subject choice, teacher allocation and class size.

The Deputy will be aware that significant improvements have also occurred in the pupil-teacher ratio at second level in recent years. At second level, there was one teacher for every 14 pupils in 2004, down from one for every 16 pupil in 1996-97.