Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 132: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will implement the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child which, following a presentation by an Irish delegation led by the Minister with responsibility for Children, concluded that class sizes must be reduced at all levels and also raised concerns regarding the cost of education and materials in primary schools, including water and waste charges at commercial rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34245/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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. Over 280 such posts were sanctioned in the 2006/07 school year, compared to 170 in 2005/06.

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

In relation to the cost of education materials, water and waste charges in primary schools, capitation grants are the main source of funding provided by my Department to schools to meet their day to day running costs. They are intended to contribute towards the general operating costs of schools including teaching aids and other miscellaneous charges. Charges payable to the various Local Authorities do not come within the remit of my Department. It would be a matter for those Authorities to decide whether schools are liable to pay such charges. The capitation scheme is flexible in nature and affords Boards of Management discretion as to how the funding is used in meeting school's day-to-day running costs.

Since 1997 the standard rate of capitation grant has been increased from £45 (€57.14) per pupil to €145.58 with effect from 1st January, 2006, an increase of almost 155% in the period.

The capitation grant is in addition to the Ancillary Services Grant which provides additional funding for primary schools towards the cost of secretarial and caretaking services. The standard rate of grant per pupil under the scheme was increased from €102 per pupil in 2002 to the current rate to €139 per pupil.

These significant increases in the funding of primary schools are a clear demonstration of my commitment to prioritise available resources to address the needs of schools.