Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if any Department here conducted a cost benefit analysis that would accrue from increasing teaching hours from the current ceiling of 22 hours per week; and the implications this would have for maintaining and lowering pupil ratios in primary and post primary schools. [38441/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The ceiling of 22 hours that the Deputy refers to does not apply at primary level where the standard school week is 28 hours and 40 minutes and the weekly class contact time is 25 hours. Class contact time for pupils at post-primary level is 28 hours per week. Full-time teachers are generally timetabled for up to 22 hours per week which equates to about 33 class periods per week. An increase in the existing arrangements beyond 22 hours teaching per week would reduce the overall number of teachers required at post-primary level and would therefore result in cost savings for the Exchequer.