Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 469: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there are only 35 pupils in classes of less than 20 out of a combined pupil population of 4,949 pupils in the national schools in Celbridge, Leixlip and Maynooth, County Kildare; and if she will immediately address this issue in view of the fact that the area is growing at a tremendous rate. [13914/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Information in relation to class sizes is provided in the annual census of primary schools. The details for the current school year (2006/2007) are currently being compiled by my Department and the information requested is not readily available.

As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary level in recent years. There are now 5,000 more primary teachers than there were in 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. Furthermore, the Government is committed to providing even more primary teachers next year to reduce class sizes.

As you know 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. Over 280 such posts were sanctioned in the 2006/07 school year compared to 170 in 2005/06.

The improvements we have made in school staffing in recent years are absolutely unparalleled.

But we are determined to go even further, and so the 2007 Estimates include provision for another 800 primary teachers. About 500 of these will be classroom teachers, which includes our commitment to reduce class sizes.

I assure the Deputy that we will continue to prioritise further improvements in school staffing going forward. We will also continue our focus on measures to improve the quality of education in our primary schools to ensure that increased resources lead to better outcomes for our children.

The demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly over the last number of years mainly due to the rapid expansion in teacher numbers particularly in the area of special needs, the growth in the school-going population in rapidly developing areas including the impact of inward migration and the demands to cater for diversity through the recognition of new Gaelscoileanna and Educate Together schools.

As you will be aware, the local area development plan for the N4/M4 corridor (running from Leixlip to Kilbeggan and including Maynooth, Celbridge, Kilcock, Edenderry, Enfield, Longwood, Kinnegad, Killucan, Milltownpass, Rochfortbridge and Tyrellspass), which was published in May 2005 by the Commission on School Accommodation, is the framework document for the Department's long-term educational strategy at both primary and post-primary level for the area concerned. The recommendations in the plan are being actioned in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme subject to the published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects.