Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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83. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the pupil-teacher ratio for mainland schools for different types of school (details supplied) in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21874/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's 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 previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location. The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. The staffing arrangements for schools for the 2016/17 school year are set out in Department Circular 0007/2016 which is available on the website.

My Department publishes annual statistics on class size data for each school. The most recent statistics are for the 2015/16 school year. These statistics are available on the Department website. The national average class size is 24.9 pupils. However, with over 21,700 classes in over 3,100 primary schools throughout the country there will always be variations in class sizes at individual school level. My Department's guidance to local school management is that such variations should be kept to the minimum.