John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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470. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an appeal for an extra teacher in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny will be granted based on its intake of pupils which resulted in a total of 91 pupils; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44132/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2014/2015 school year is set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0007/2014) which is available on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the 30 September 2013. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The appeal criteria are published in Circular 0007/2014.

The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal to the June, 2014 meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The appeal was refused by the board on the basis that the grounds of the appeal did not meet the published criteria. The school was notified accordingly.

The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final.

The staffing arrangements for the 2015/16 school year will be published early in 2015 and this will enable schools to determine their staffing levels for the 2015/16 school year.