Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will meet with a group (details supplied) to discuss issues regarding the rules governing the allocation of release days to teaching principals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21916/18]

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.

Building on measures in previous budgets to enhance school leadership, Budget 2018 made €0.4 million available to fund additional release days for teaching principals in primary schools. This additional funding will see an increase in the number of release days available to teaching principals in the 2018/19 school year.

Enabling teaching principals to have one release day per week would cost approximately €12 million per annum.

I recently announced an extension to the arrangements for schools with teaching principals to cluster their release days into full-time posts, with one teacher covering the release days of all the schools in the cluster. Up to 50 principal release cluster posts will be put in place for the 2018/19 school year. Such arrangements will provide consistency in substitute cover and allow principals to plan their administrative days effectively.

Any invitations or meeting requests can be forwarded to diary@education.gov.ie and they will be considered.