Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of restoring guidance counsellors to one per 500 pupils ex-quota at post-primary schools. [6871/18]

Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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193. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the guidance counsellor to pupil ratio ex-quota; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6951/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 193 together.

Measures announced by my Department as part of Budget 2016, 2017 and 2018 mean that 500 of the 600 guidance posts that was withdrawn in Budget 2012 will be restored to schools from September 2018.

All of these 500 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 250 posts in addition to the 500 posts which have been restored in the past three Budgets at an estimated cost of €15m per annum.

The Teacher Allocations section of my Department recently issued circular 7/2018 which outlines the allocation of teaching posts (including the calculation of guidance provision) to second-level schools for the 2018/19 school year. The circular is available on the Department website.