Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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119. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full-year cost of providing 10,000 extra release days for teaching principals in primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7128/20]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2020 is the third successive budget to provide for an increase in the number of principal release days.One additional release day will be allocated to each school with a teaching principal with effect from 1^stSeptember 2020. This will bring the number of release days to 19, 25 and 31, depending on the size of school. This is an increase from 14, 18 and 22 days since 2015. In addition, a further four additional release days are allocated to schools with special classes.

There are arrangements in place for schools to cluster their principal release days into a full-time post which will assist teaching principals to more effectively plan their release days for the benefit of the school.

Providing 10,000 additional release days would cost in the region of €2.64m per annum.