Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 128: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teaching posts lost and the amount of monetary savings to his Department that will arise in the 2012/2013 academic year as a result of changes to pupil requirement thresholds in small schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26130/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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73 small primary schools were originally due to lose a classroom teacher in September 2012 as a result of the budget measure to increase the relevant pupil thresholds. The Staffing Appeals Board considered appeals from any of the 73 schools that could show that their projected enrolments for September 2012 were sufficient to allow them retain their classroom teacher over the longer term.

35 small schools had their appeals provisionally upheld by the Appeals Board subject to confirmation that their actual enrolments in September 2012 reach the required level.

In these extremely challenging times, all public servants are being asked to deliver our public services on a reduced level of resources and teachers in small schools cannot be immune from this requirement. The final staffing position for all schools will ultimately not be known until the Autumn. At that stage the allocation process will be fully completed and all appeals to the Staffing Appeals Board will have been considered.