Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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457. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will reconsider the decision to remove funding for a primary school teacher (details supplied) in County Limerick in view of the fact that church assets are now being sold to privately fund the teacher's salary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42959/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The staffing and redeployment arrangements for primary schools for the 2014/15 school year are set out in Circular 0007/2014 and are available on the Department website. The staffing arrangements include the provision where schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds. Such posts are provisionally approved pending confirmation of actual enrolment on the following 30th September, in this case September 2014.

The school referred to by the Deputy was provisionally approved for such a post but did not achieve the required enrolment on 30th September. The school submitted an appeal on developing grounds to the October meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The Board refused the appeal on the basis that the grounds of the appeal did not warrant the allocation of an additional post under Circular 0007/2014. The Appeals Board is independent of the Department and its decision is final.

My Department has already indicated that it will review staffing levels in the school if it can be established that additional children will be enrolled. The Inspectorate is also available to advise schools in relation to the configuration of classes, and to provide advice on the deployment of additional staffing resources such as those provided to Limerick city DEIS schools to implement intensive literacy projects. I have asked the Inspectorate to arrange a visit by a local inspector to this school in the near future.