Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 43: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that primary schools in County Kildare have the highest class sizes in the country; if he plans to deliver a more equitable approach to the allocation of resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5598/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Class size data for primary schools is compiled by my Department on an annual basis and is available on the Department's website.

The staffing schedule is the mechanism used for allocating mainstream teaching posts to all schools irrespective of what county they are in.

School authorities are advised in the staffing schedule to ensure that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible, taking all relevant contextual factors into account (e.g. classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment etc.). In particular, they should ensure, as far as possible, that there is an equitable distribution of pupils in mainstream classes and the differential between the largest and the smallest classes is kept to a minimum.

With over 20,000 individual classes spread across all schools throughout the country there will always be differences in individual class sizes.