Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 522: To ask the Minister for Education and Science further to her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 875 of 25 April 2006 when she will provide the information requested; if it will be available before the end of this school term; the reason such data is not in the possession of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16657/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is supplied to my Department on an Annual Return form by each primary school. The forms are then processed in the Department so that national data can be updated for the relevant school year.

For the current school year (2005/2006), all schools were requested to have forms returned by 31st October 2005. To date, some schools have not returned their forms and others have not responded to queries made regarding errors in their returns. In all cases the schools have been contacted with a view to having the matter finalised.

In the circumstances, I am unable at this time to supply the information requested by the Deputy in respect of the current school year or to give a specific indication as to when it will be available. However, I can assure the Deputy that officials within my Department are pursuing the outstanding schools as a matter of urgency.

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 524: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if there is an intention by her Department to provide additional teaching hours to second level schools where there are over and above the average number of international students in view of the fact that in County Dublin vocational educational committee secondary schools there are approximately 711 international students, 30% of which are attending three schools in north Dublin, where the maximum allocation of two teachers for 28 students is not adequate to deal with the increasing number of students attending these schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16667/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Ensuring that all children get the support that they need to do well at school is a major priority for this Government. In order to ensure that children with low levels of competence in the English language can succeed at school, my Department gives additional support to their schools which can take the form of financial assistance, additional temporary teacher posts or portions of teacher posts.

The level of extra financial or teaching support provided to any school is determined by the numbers of non-English speaking students enrolled. Each school management can decide on the structure of the support to be provided in its own school. An allocation of 2 years' language support for each pupil is provided by my Department. Schools with 14 or more qualifying pupils get an additional full-time temporary teacher. Those with 28 or more get two teachers.

Primary schools with between 3 and 13 (inclusive) qualifying pupils enrolled will receive grant assistance for a period of up to two years. Schools with between 3 and 8 qualifying pupils receive grant assistance of €6,348.69 while schools with between 9 and 13 pupils receive grant assistance of €9,523.04. In the current school year grant assistance will be provided to approximately 425 primary schools with 13 or less qualifying pupils.

In the case of post-primary schools which have 13 or less qualifying pupils enrolled, additional teaching hours, ranging from 3 hours per week in respect of 1 such pupil to 19.5 hours per week in respect of 13 pupils, are sanctioned.

Recent years have seen a significant rise in the number of language support posts being provided by my Department. In the current school year, 541 whole-time equivalent language support teachers are in place at primary level and 262 whole-time equivalent teachers are in place at second level to support such pupils, representing an investment of €46.5 million.

This compares to 149 and 113 teachers respectively in the school year 2001/02. Thus, there has been a four-fold increase in language support teachers at primary level in just 4 years.

So the Government has been increasing resources in this area in line with rising demand. However, this is a relatively new area and as such must be kept under review to ensure that children are getting the support that they need and that this support is proving effective in helping them to make the most of their time at school.

I am also conscious of the pressures on those schools that have a great number of children whose first language is not English and whose cultures and expectations of education can be very different to our own. So, while this year there are more than 800 language support teachers in our schools, I know that this is only part of the equation. I know that schools with significant numbers of non-national children need extra supports to help them to engage with these children's parents and I am currently working on proposals in relation to this.