Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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160. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the annual increase in cost of employing 1,400 additional teachers, based on average starting rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12207/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The average annual salary cost for a teacher can vary between primary and post-primary level. However, the combined average annual cost for both sectors, inclusive of employer's PRSI, is circa. €47,500. The average annual increase in costs used for estimating purposes is currently €1,970, inclusive of employer's PRSI.

The full year cost for an additional 1,400 teachers is therefore of the order of €66.5 million with an annual increase of circa. €2.8 million.

The Government's focus in recent years has been on operating a budgetary programme that is designed to return the Government finances to a sustainable basis.

My main priority for any additional resources for the foreseeable future will be to cater for the continuing increase in demographics at all levels in the education system. We have a growing population of young people in this country and despite the difficult financial circumstances we face as a country, we prioritised education so that the number of teachers we have in the system has also grown in order to protect existing pupil teacher ratios. There were a thousand more teachers employed in schools around the country in the last school year, than there was the year before. There will be a further increase of circa 1,300 teachers in the current school year. This is a very significant investment at a time of scarce resources.