Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 427: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the impact, of recent cutbacks announced in budget 2009, in relation to all aspects of staffing and funding for a school (details supplied). [44849/08]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the effects of budget 2009 on a school (details supplied) in County Mayo, with particular reference to their teacher numbers, resource grant and rural co-ordinator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45088/08]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 443: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the effect of the budget 2009 cutbacks on a primary school (details supplied) in County Mayo, with particular regard to teacher numbers, equipment grant for learning support teachers and cutbacks in in-service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45092/08]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 444: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will reverse the decision to cut the staffing levels of a school (details supplied) in County Mayo, in view of the effect this will have, which will result in a 50% reduction in the present staff level. [45093/08]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 458: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the effects of the budget 2009 cutbacks on a primary school (detail supplied) in County Mayo with particular reference to teacher numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45252/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 427, 442 to 444, inclusive, and 458 together.

I have consistently said that the 2009 Budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect Education, while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure, could not be totally spared.The various impacts at school level were included in the Budget day announcements. Even with the budget measures in place there will still be a significantly increased borrowing requirement in 2009.

My Department will be advising individual schools in the normal way in relation to their staffing and grant allocations. The preparatory work for this has commenced with the processing of enrolment data that has been received from schools. The staffing allocation processes including notification to schools will commence early in the New Year. The allocation process includes appellate mechanisms under which schools can appeal against the allocation due to them under the staffing schedules. In addition to the mainstream classroom teachers my Department also allocates teaching resources to schools for special needs and language support. The final allocation to a school is also a function of the operation of the redeployment panels which provide for the retention of a teacher in an existing school if a new post is not available within the agreed terms of the scheme.

The appellate process is particularly relevant at post-primary level where any specific curricular needs of the school concerned are considered. Also at post-primary there is no effective system wide redeployment scheme at present and this can mean that schools retain teachers, though over quota.

I have no difficulty in setting out for this House or for the public generally the overall changes on aggregate teacher numbers or on grant levels in schools for the 2009/10 school year. I will do this when the allocation processes have been completed. Furthermore the staffing schedule will be published and it is a transparent and clear way of ensuring that schools are treated consistently and fairly and know where they stand.

At this time the priority for my Department within the resources available to it is to carry out those processes in a timely manner. Diverting resources in order to create staffing or funding profiles for the individual schools requested by the Deputies, information which at this time could only be speculative, could not be justified and would in fact impede the process.

The provision for teacher in-service education support in 2009 is €28.8m, compared with a 2008 estimate of €33.8m. It is intended to reduce teacher secondments to in-service and, while it will be possible to continue to provide a wide range of services to teachers, the reduced allocation will mean that programmes that are not in an expansionary or prioritised phase will have to be curtailed to a degree.

I am confident that as the global economy improves it will be possible to build again on the significant achievements of recent years and do so in a manner consistent with overall prudent management of the Irish economy.