Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to the figures (details supplied) which show that 112,821 pupils were in classes of 30 or more for the last school year; and his plans to address the rise in primary school class sizes and increase in pupil teacher ratios resulting from cutbacks and an increasing school population. [43104/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The context for any discussion about class sizes is that my Department, like all other Government Departments, is operating within a budgetary programme that is designed to return the Government finances to a sustainable basis.

My focus is on ensuring we have school places and teachers for all the additional pupils entering our schools each year. There is no scope to give any consideration to the provision of additional teachers in order to reduce class sizes.

Classroom teachers are currently allocated under the published Staffing Schedule on the basis of a general average of 1 teacher for every 28 pupils with lower thresholds for DEIS Band 1 schools. The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. My Department's guidance to schools is that variations in class sizes should be kept to the minimum.