Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 520: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of language support teachers in primary schools in County Roscommon in each of the past five years; the annual cost of these teachers to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30922/07]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 522: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of language support teachers in primary schools in County Leitrim in each of the past five years; the annual cost of these teachers to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30924/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 520 and 522 together.

Providing the county specific information requested by the Deputy in relation to language support teachers would require accessing individual school files, involving an inordinate amount of administrative time for both compilation and checking.

In order to meet the language needs of students in our schools whose first language is not English or Irish, additional support is given to their schools which can take the form of financial assistance, additional teaching posts or portions of posts.

The level of extra financial or teaching support provided to any school is determined by the numbers of eligible non-English speaking students enrolled. I indicated in January last that the limit of two teachers per school and the limit of two years' support to an individual pupil which had applied up to then, will no longer apply. As a result, an individual school may be allocated up to six language support posts under the arrangements now in place.

Schools with between 3 and 13 eligible pupils receive grant assistance towards the cost of employing part-time teachers. Schools with 3 to 8 such pupils receive a grant of over €6,300, while schools with between 9 and 13 such pupils receive over €9,500.

My Department does not have records of the number of teachers employed by local Boards of Management who receive this grant.

Schools with 14 or more such pupils are entitled to one or more language support teachers, the number of which has increased dramatically in recent years. There are now over 1,400 language support teachers in our primary schools.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 521: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of language support teachers in second level schools in County Roscommon in each of the past five years; the annual cost of these teachers to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30923/07]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 523: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of language support teachers in second level schools in County Leitrim in each of the past five years; the annual cost of these teachers to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30925/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 521 and 523 together.

The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of Language Support teachers employed in second level schools in County Roscommon and in County Leitrim in each of the past five years is not readily available within my Department and would involve an inordinate amount of administrative time to compile.

My Department estimates that there are in the region of 28,000 students in our schools whose first language is not English or Irish. In order to meet their language needs, my Department in May 2007 issued a circular, reference 0053/2007, to the managerial authorities of all schools — both primary and post primary — to assist them in providing an inclusive school environment to meet the needs of pupils for whom English is a second language. The circular outlines the resources that are available to assist schools in this task. The circular is accessible on the website of my Department.

The level of additional teacher support allocated to primary and post primary schools is determined by the number of enrolled pupils for whom English is a second language and the associated level of language proficiency.

It is estimated that currently the average cost of employing a post-primary school teacher is €64,000 per annum.