Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 605: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, under the announced reduced pupil-teacher ratios, a school (details supplied) in County Laois will obtain a further teacher; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6428/06]

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 which is issued annually to all primary schools. The general rule is that the schedule provides at least one classroom teacher for every 29 pupils in the school. Schools with only one or two teachers have much lower staffing ratios than that, with two teachers for just 12 pupils in some cases and so on. However, the general rule is that there is at least one classroom teacher for every 29 children in the school. Next year this is being reduced to 28 children per classroom teacher and in 2007-08 it will be reduced to 27 children per classroom teacher. Officials of my Department are drawing up the revised staffing schedule necessary to achieve this. Schools will be asked to use the extra class teachers provided as a result of the revised schedule to provide for smaller classes in the junior grades.

The mainstream staffing of the school, referred to by the Deputy, for the current school year is a principal and three mainstream class teachers based on an enrolment of 113 pupils at 30 September 2004. The school also has one permanent learning support-resource post, a shared temporary learning support-resource post, and a shared temporary resource post for Traveller children.

According to data submitted to my Department by the board of management, the enrolment in the school on 30 September 2005 was 115 pupils. The staffing for the 2006-07 school year will be determined on the basis of this figure and in accordance with the revised staffing schedule, which my Department will be issuing to schools in the near future.

John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 606: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the pupil numbers for all classes in all the national schools in counties Sligo and Leitrim for the years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and to date in 2006; the number of teachers in each school for the same years; the number of new teachers appointed in each school for the same years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6444/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available in my Department.