Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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219. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of providing one guidance counsellor per 500 pupils at secondary level on an ex-quota basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17790/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Measures announced by my Department as part of Budget 2016 and 2017 mean that 400 guidance posts, or two thirds of the guidance allocation that was withdrawn in Budget 2012, will be restored to schools from September 2017.

All these 400 posts are allocated separately and transparently and outside of the quota on the normal schedule of posts.

The provision of 1 guidance counsellor per 500 students would require 350 posts in addition to the 400 posts which have been restored in Budget 2016 and 2017 at an estimated cost of €22.2m per annum.