Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 568: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children in primary school classes of over 30 pupils and in what counties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13569-06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Information on the number of classes of over 30 pupils in the current school year is not yet available in my Department.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government's commitment to improving staffing in primary schools has been unprecedented. We have put over 5,000 more primary teachers in our schools in the last few years. Those have been targeted at pupils with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas to ensure that they are getting the extra help that they need to reach their potential. That has resulted in a major improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio, which counts all the teachers in a school, including special needs teachers, school principals, etc. In 1997 the pupil-teacher ratio was 22:1, meaning that there was one teacher for every 22 primary school children in our schools. By 2004-05 we had reduced that to 17:1, or one teacher for every 17 pupils.

The average class size nationally has also been reduced to 23.9, while significantly smaller class sizes have been introduced in disadvantaged schools, with approximately 47,000 pupils in 243 schools participating in the Giving Children an Even Break — Breaking the Cycle programme, benefitting from reduced class sizes of either 15 or 20 pupils per class.

Under the new action plan for tackling disadvantage published last May, more children in disadvantaged schools will be in smaller classes in the current school year. With the more than 600 extra resource teachers put in place this school year, children with special needs are getting more support than ever before.

In speaking about staffing in our schools, we have consistently said that priority would be given in the first instance to children in disadvantaged schools and those with special needs. We have done that and now in line with the Government commitment mainstream class sizes are also being reduced.

The Deputy should note that 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.

To ensure openness and transparency in the system an independent appeals board is now in place to decide on any appeals on mainstream staffing. The criteria under which an appeal can be made are set out in Department Primary Circular 19-02, which is also available on my Department's website.

It is proposed that the first meeting of the appeals board will be held in May. Further meetings will be held in July and October. The closing dates for receipt of appeals are 12 May, 24 June and 18 October, respectively. Appeals must be submitted to primary payments section, Department of Education and Science, Athlone, on the standard application form, clearly stating the criterion under which the appeal is being made. The standard application form is available from primary payments section or on my Department's website.

The appeals board operates independently of the Minister and my Department, and its decision is final.