Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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351. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the full year cost of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to 18:1 by paying all staff on the pre 2011 pay scale. [36360/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools in the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represents the start of a major reinvestment in education, and the first phase of implementation of the Action Plan for Education, aimed at becoming the best education system in Europe within a decade. The budget provides for over 2,400 additional teaching posts for our primary and post-primary schools in the coming school year.

Each 1 point adjustment to the pupil teacher ratio at post primary level is estimated to cost in the region of €63m per annum. The cost of this adjustment based on salary rates applicable in 2011 is estimated to be in the region of €65.5m.

It is my intention to make further improvements to class sizes over the life of the Government. However, I recognise that there are needs across the system which have to be balanced in the decisions made in each Budget.