Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 140: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will set out a timetable for meeting the commitment on class sizes given in An Agreed Programme for Government within the lifetime of this Administration and put in place the steps needed to ensure the recruitment of the additional teachers required and the provision of the extra classrooms required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13001/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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 the teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes.

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 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in 2003-04. More than 4,000 additional 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.

In line with Government policy, my Department will continue to provide further reductions in the pupil teacher ratio, with priority being given to pupils with special needs, those from disadvantaged areas and those in junior classes. Any requirement for additional accommodation arising from the creation of additional teaching posts will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation programme.