Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 501: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will examine the situation that arises in schools when the extra teacher is required on the role on 30 September but can not be advertised until the following May or June and is not available for the period of the school year which is required. [30797/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by reference to the valid enrolment of the school on 30th September of the previous school year and the staffing schedule which is issued annually to all primary schools.

Within the terms of the staffing arrangements for primary schools there is provision for additional posts, referred to as developing school posts, to be assigned to schools on the basis of projected enrolments for the next school year. Under these arrangements, a developing school post may be sanctioned provisionally where the projected enrolment at 30th September of the school year in question equals or exceeds a specified figure. If the specified figure is not achieved on 30th September, sanction for the post is withdrawn. Over 330 such posts have been sanctioned in the 2007/08 school year compared to 280 in 2006/07.

An independent appeal board is now in place to decide on any appeals on mainstream staffing in primary schools. Details of the appeal procedure are outlined in Department Circular 0024/2007 which is available on my Department's website. The appeal board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.