Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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171. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of posts of responsibility which would be needed in primary schools to restore posts at the level which pertained prior to the moratorium; the estimated number of posts which were lost through the moratorium; the number that have been restored to date; the number of posts at AP1 and AP2 level being restored in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years; and the estimated cost of full restoration to the pre-moratorium level for the school year 2020-21. [17300/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2017 allowed for the commencement of restoration of middle management posts as part of an agreed distributed leadership model and meant lifting the longstanding moratorium on these posts with effect from the 2017/18 school year. This recognises the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable.

€2.75m was allocated in Budget 2017 to restore middle management positions i.e. the equivalent of approximately 1,300 middle management posts (Assistant Principal I and Assistant Principal II) at both Primary and Post-Primary (2,600 in total).

In total more than 1500 leadership posts have been invested in our primary schools in the past two years which has led to 1 in 3 teachers now holding promoted positions.

The lifting of the moratorium is an initial phase in the restoration of middle management posts and any future improvements to the number of posts allocated will be dependent on budgetary demands.

Information on the number of APIs and APIIs in our primary schools prior to the moratorium are outlined in the table.  The circular on leadership and management in primary schools for the 2019/20 school year is currently being finalised and will be available on the Department website in due course.

The estimated cost of lifting the moratorium on posts of responsibility and restoring them to pre-moratorium levels at primary level would be in the order of €19m per annum.

Number of APIs and APIIs which were removed from primary schools during the moratorium

APIs - 268

APIIs – 1,282