Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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376. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the schools which have benefitted from the reduction in the pupil -teacher ratio from September 2018. [36801/18]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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377. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if schools that are entitled to an extra teacher under the revised pupil-teacher ratio have refused the offer of a teacher; if so, the schools that this applies to; and the reasons for this. [36802/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 376 and 377 together.

The criteria used to allocate teachers to primary schools are published annually on the Department’s website. Circular 10/2018 outlines the allocation process for the 2018/19 school year for primary schools. The published criteria also includes the primary staffing schedule, which operates on the basis of enrolment bands and does so in a clear and transparent manner.

For the 2018/19 school year, the staffing schedule at Primary level will operate on a general average of 26 pupils to every 1 teacher (26:1). This is historically the lowest ever allocation ratio at primary level.  

The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts as permitted by the staffing schedule is a matter for the individual Board of Managements of each school.

The Statistics Section of my Department's website contains extensive data relating to pupil enrolment and individual class groupings for all schools at primary level. The most recent published information relates to the 2017/2018 school year.

The information sought by the Deputy is being compiled by the Teacher Allocation section of my Department and will be forwarded to the Deputy shortly.

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