Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 295: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will reinstate classes in four subjects to all students at a school (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31822/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Teacher allocations to all second level schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. In accordance with these rules each school management authority is required to organise its subject options within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. It is a matter for the school to employ teachers up to the limit of its approved allocation and at its discretion to deploy those teachers to the subject areas that the school chooses to provide.

A school authority may from time to time encounter unanticipated difficulty which it has not been in a position to immediately resolve, through its school planning and management processes in meeting essential curricular commitments to pupils within the normal staffing allocation. In such circumstances, my Department will consider requests by a school authority for a staffing concession as short-term support.

Over the past five years the school referred to by the Deputy had on average four teachers more than it was entitled to for a school of its size. Over and above that, the Department granted additional teaching hours to the school to enable particular subjects to be taught. These concessions were approved on the basis of allowing the school time to action a plan of curricular and timetable adjustments to enable the school to operate within its approved allocation limits. This year such a request was not approved for this school on the basis that the school had been allocated concessions in previous years, had adequate opportunity to re-organise its subject options, had taken no effective action to operate within its allocation and continued to have more than three teachers in excess of its entitlement.

An Independent Appeals Committee considers appeals by school authorities against decisions of my Department in regard to allocations of teaching staff. The Appeals Committee operates independently of my Department. The school appealed to the Independent Appeals Committee and its appeal was not successful. The school continued to make representations and has not given any indication that it is prepared to contemplate making any adjustments now or in the future. The school's inaction has resulted in a situation where a number of students preparing for the State Examinations could be left without teachers in certain subjects. Notwithstanding the fact that the Appeals Committee had completed its work, my Department as a totally exceptional measure has made additional teaching hours available to the school to enable it cater for examination students in these classes. This has been done in the interest of the students concerned while the Department continues to have an ongoing concern about the failure of this school to manage within its approved teacher allocation.