Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 504: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the average pupil teacher ratio for primary schools in each county; the ratio for each year since 2002; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31594/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The information on pupil teacher ratio by school or County as requested by the Deputy is not readily available.

As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary and post-primary level in recent years. At the beginning of the current school year there are no less than 4000 extra teachers in our primary schools, compared with 2002. The average class size in our primary schools is 24 and there is now one teacher for 17 pupils at primary level, including resource teachers etc.

Children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas are getting more support than ever before to help them to make the most of their time at school.

Indeed, with the thousands of extra primary teachers hired by this Government, recent years have seen the largest expansion in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. Over the next two school years even more teachers will be put in place both for the above priority areas of disadvantage and special education and also under a reduction in the mainstream staffing schedule.

As the Deputy knows all primary schools are staffed on a general rule of at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children. Of course, 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 — but the general rule is that there is at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children in the school. Next year (2007/2008 school year) this is being reduced to 27 children per classroom teacher.

A further initiative that has been of direct benefit to primary schools has been the change in the criteria for developing schools. For the current school year the threshold for getting a developing school post was reduced specifically to help schools that are seeing large increases in enrolments each year, as is the case in many schools. 170 such posts were sanctioned in the 2005/06 school year, compared with 105 in 2004/05.

This Government has shown a clear determination to improve the staffing in our schools and we will continue to prioritise this issue going forward.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 505: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, in view of the fact that Kildare schools are among those with the highest pupil teacher ratio in the country, she will take action to lower average ratios to less than 20 pupils per teacher in view of the recent report of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in which class sizes here were strongly criticised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31595/06]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 506: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the action she will take to reduce the pupil teacher ratio in primary school classes in view of the recent report of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in which class sizes here were strongly criticised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31596/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 505 and 506 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary level in recent years. At the beginning of the current school year there are no less than 4000 extra teachers in our primary schools, compared with 2002. The average class size in our primary schools is 24 and there is now one teacher for 17 pupils at primary level, including resource teachers etc.

Children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas are getting more support than ever before to help them to make the most of their time at school.

Indeed, with the thousands of extra primary teachers hired by this Government, recent years have seen the largest expansion in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. Over the next two school years even more teachers will be put in place both for the above priority areas of disadvantage and special education and also under a reduction in the mainstream staffing schedule.

As the Deputy knows all primary schools are staffed on a general rule of at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children. Of course, 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 — but the general rule is that there is at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children in the school. Next year (2007/2008 school year) this is being reduced to 27 children per classroom teacher.

A further initiative that has been of direct benefit to primary schools has been the change in the criteria for developing schools. For the current school year the threshold for getting a developing school post was reduced specifically to help schools that are seeing large increases in enrolments each year, as is the case in many schools. 170 such posts were sanctioned in the 2005/06 school year, compared with 105 in 2004/05.

This Government has shown a clear determination to improve the staffing in our schools and we will continue to prioritise this issue going forward.