Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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121. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for national school principals who are struggling to address the need for one administration day per week (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6140/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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In Budget 2019, school leadership is again supported with an additional release day for teaching principals in primary schools and a further four additional release days for teaching principals in schools with special classes. These additional release days - 18, 24, and 30 depending on the size of the school - will be effective from 1st September 2019.

This builds on measures in previous budgets, including €0.4 million made available in Budget 2018 to fund almost 4600 additional release days for teaching principals in primary schools. This funding provided an increase in the number of release days available to teaching principals in the 2018/19 school year to 17, 23 or 29 days depending on the size of the school.

Any additional increase in the number of release days will be considered as part of the next annual budgetary process alongside the many other demands from the education sector.