Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the high pupil-teacher ratio at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; if her attention has further been drawn to the urgent need to address this pressing issue in order to ensure the achievement of a better ratio at the earliest possible date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9820/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year to a staffing schedule, agreed between my Department and the education partners. The system for allocating teachers to primary schools is based on ensuring an overall maximum class of 29 in each school. 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. In accordance with the staffing schedule, the staffing of the school referred to by the Deputy for the school year 2004-05 is a principal and 21 mainstream class teachers based on an enrolment of 591 pupils at 30 September 2003. In addition, the school has two learning support teachers, two special class teachers, two full-time resource teachers, one shared resource teacher and one temporary language support teacher.

My Department will finalise the staffing schedule for the 2005-06 school year shortly and thereafter notify school boards of management. According to data submitted to my Department by the board of management the enrolment on 30 September 2004 in the school was 588 pupils. The staffing for the 2005-06 school year will be determined on the basis of this figure and in accordance with the agreed staffing schedule. Significant improvements have been made to the pupil teacher ratio at primary level, which has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in the 2003-04 school year. In line with Government policy, my Department will continue to provide further reductions in the pupil teacher ratio within available resources and subject to spending priorities within the education sector. Priority will be given to pupils with special needs, those from disadvantaged areas and those in junior classes.