Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 623: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a representative from her Department has met this school year with representatives of schools (details supplied); the position of the application for a new community school on the school building programme; if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties in the school as a result of staff allocation, larger class sizes, inadequate allocation for core subjects and delays in site purchase; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34369/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Officials from the School Planning and Building Unit met with County Leitrim Vocational Educational Committee earlier this year to discuss various building projects including the building project at the school referred to by the Deputy. The Property Management Section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally, has been requested to source a site for the school. When the site acquisition process is finalised, the project will be considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation programme 2006-2010.

Teacher allocations to second level schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. Each school management authority is required to organise its time-table and subject options having regard to pupils needs within the limit of its approved teacher allocation.

The rules for allocating teaching resources provide that where a school management authority is unable to meet its curricular commitments within its approved allocation, my Department will consider applications for additional short term support i.e. curricular concessions.

An application for curricular concessions was received by the school referred to by the Deputy and an extra 0.45 wholetime equivalent teacher post was allocated. An independent appeals mechanism is available to school authorities who wish to appeal the adequacy of their teacher allocation. The school referred to by the Deputy availed of this appeals mechanism and was allocated a further 0.55 wholetime equivalent teacher post. The decision of the Appeals Committee is final.

As the Appeals Committee operates independently of my Department in taking its decisions, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to intervene in any such decision.