Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the criteria to be adopted by the independent primary staffing appeals board for appeals which are being made by small schools to appeal a loss of posts to one, two, three and four-teacher schools. [13198/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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My Department has expanded the existing appeals process so that it is accessible to the 73 small schools that are losing a classroom post as a result of the budget measure. It is worth noting that there are almost 1,200 small schools with 86 pupils or less and no small school will be forced to close as a result of this decision. Such schools will not lose their classroom post if they are projecting increased enrolments in September 2012 that would be sufficient to allow them to retain their existing classroom posts over the longer term. The detailed arrangements are set out in the Department's Staffing Circular 0007/2012 including the relevant thresholds to retain a classroom teaching post at Appendix A.

The closing date for submission of appeals for the April meeting of the Staffing Appeal Board is 23 March, 2012. Schools must submit to my Department by 16 March, 2012 a redeployment form for any teacher surplus to requirements who is eligible to be placed on the redeployment panel. I can assure the Deputy that it is intended that the Appeal Board meeting will take place prior to the release of the main redeployment panel in mid to late April, 2012 thus allowing for any impact of the Board's decision on redeployment panels to be effected. The Appeal Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.