Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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92. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the fact that, on average, primary school classes here have four to five more pupils than those throughout the EU; if provision will be made in budget 2018 to resume work on reducing class sizes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42472/17]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the fact that the average class size here is now the fifth highest in the OECD and the highest in the eurozone. [42907/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 147 together.

Budget 2016 provided for an improvement in the staffing schedule in primary schools by 1 point, from 1 teacher for every 28 pupils to 1 teacher for every 27 pupils for the 2016/17 school year and it should be noted that the current staffing schedule of 27:1 for primary schools has restored it to the position it was at prior to the fiscal crisis.

Budget 2017 set out the resources available for schools in the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represented 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 2017/18 school year brings a significant increase of over 5,000 in teacher numbers in our schools compared to the 2015/16 school year.

The Action Plan for Education outlines hundreds of actions to be implemented over the 3 year period 2016 to 2019 which include restoring capitation funding as resources permit.

Our average class size at primary level is only slightly above the EU average in relation to the pupil teacher ratio.

The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level and 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.