Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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101. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of increasing with effect from September 2018, the substitution provided to primary schools with teaching principals sufficient to ensure that all teaching principals can avail of one full day of administrative duties each week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40882/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Circular 12/2016, which is available on the Department website, outlines the number of days that teaching principals may take as release time in a school year in order to assist them fulfilling their principal duties. Under these arrangements my Department pays for a substitute teacher to be employed by a school to facilitate administrative functions to be undertaken by the teaching principal. Under the current arrangements the number of days that principal teachers may take as release time in each school year ranges between 15 and 25 days depending on the size of the school.

The additional cost of substitution for one day per week for all teaching principals would be in the region of €12m per year.

Any further enhancements to the Principal Release Time Scheme, will have to be considered in the context of the budgetary process.