John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of whole time teacher equivalents employed in second level schools here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45722/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Significant improvements have been made in the staffing of our second level schools in recent years. In the 2001/2002 school year, there were approximately 24,477 wholetime equivalent teaching posts allocated to second level schools.

Currently there are 26,821 wholetime equivalent teaching posts allocated to second level schools. This figure is broken down as follows: 13,542 to voluntary secondary schools, 3,641 to community, 626 to comprehensive and 9,012 to Vocational Educational Committees.

Teacher allocations for second level schools are approved by my Department on an annual basis in accordance with generally applied rules based on recognised pupil enrolments on the 30th of September of the preceding school year.

Each school management authority is required to organise its curriculum, teaching time-table and subject options having regard to pupils' needs within the limits of its approved teacher allocation.

John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 257: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the way the €2.7 million announced on 4 December 2008 for substitution will be divided among second level schools between January and June 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45723/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As a result of the 2009 Budget provisions for Education, arising from current economic challenges, and following subsequent proposals from the management bodies of post-primary schools, new arrangements are being put into place for substitution cover for uncertified sick leave for teachers in post-primary schools and for official school business in post-primary schools.

These arrangements are being put in place with effect from 1 January 2009 and will remain in place for the remainder of the 2008/09 school year while a review of the supervision/substitution 37 hour scheme and related matters takes place.

Each post-primary school will be provided with a defined number of hours of substitution cover outside of the supervision and substitution scheme to provide cover for teacher absences arising from uncertified sick leave and official school business. This will be calculated on the basis of the number of pupils in a school with a minimum number of available hours for all schools with less than 100 pupils.

Thus for the remainder of the school year there will be 16 hours substitution cover allocated for schools with 100 pupils or less, 32 hours for a 200 pupil school and 64 hours for a 400 pupil school, for example.

The implementation of the proposals made by the second-level management bodies will, over the balance of the current school year, provide a new basis for managing the use of substitution cover for school business and enable schools manage unpredictable teacher absences due to uncertified sick leave.