Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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108. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will enable a school (details supplied) to recruit an additional teacher next year, which is absolutely vital in view of the fact that 31 new students are being enrolled, and that failure to do so will result in the classes above junior and senior infants doubling and trebling up beyond what should be tolerated for educating children of different years together. [31192/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools are published annually on the Department's website. The key factors for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level are the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and the pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. However, the staffing schedule also includes provision for schools that have significant increases in their enrolment in rapidly developing areas to be allocated classroom teachers based on their projected enrolments for September 2013. The criteria for this are set out in the staffing schedule which is available on the Department's website. I understand the school referred to by the Deputy applied for a post under developing school status. The post was provisionally approved pending confirmation of the enrolment at 30 September 2013. The school subsequently decided not to proceed with the post on the basis of uncertainty of achieving the required enrolment. The Deputy will be aware that the Government protected front-line services in schools to the greatest extent possible in the recent budget. There will no reduction in teacher numbers in primary schools and in free second level schools for the 2013-14 school year as a result of the budget. The DEIS scheme for disadvantaged schools is also fully protected with no overall changes to staffing levels or funding as a result of the budget.