Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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505. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio in DEIS schools by one point; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18785/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In the 2019/20 school year there were 3,106 mainstream primary schools of which 690 were participating in the DEIS Programme.

Each 1 point adjustment to the overall primary staffing schedule is estimated to cost in the region of €4.7m in the first year and €14.4m for the full year.

As the Deputy is aware, currently only Urban Band 1 schools have a reduced pupil teacher ratio in accordance with supporting those schools with the highest levels of disadvantage. A reduction of class sizes in all DEIS schools would be a change in policy and create a new element to the staffing schedule of enrolment of pupils governing the appointment and retention of mainstream class teachers.  

Appendix A of Circular 19/2019 sets out the schedule of enrolment of pupils governing the appointment and retention of mainstream class teachers and is available on my Department’s website at the following link ; 

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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506. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost to designate an additional ten schools as DEIS band 2; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18786/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Over the 2019/20 school year my Department spent in the region of €125 million across 890 schools participating in the DEIS programme, serving in excess of 185,000 children. The full list of supports available to DEIS schools is available on my Department's website at the following link  

Further expenditure is incurred on the School Meals Programme by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and on the School Completion Programme, which is in the process of coming back under the remit of my Department from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

It is not possible to definitively provide the total cost of expanding the DEIS programme to include a further 10 schools as the costs will vary from school to school depending on enrolment and the levels of disadvantage in individual schools.  Supports provided vary depending on the level of disadvantage in a school.  

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of ensuring that there would be a home school liaison teacher between two, three, four and five non-DEIS schools, respectively. [18787/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the average salary cost for one Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Coordinator position based on mid point of the salary scale is circa €55,500.

Currently, all DEIS Urban Primary and DEIS Post Primary schools are included in the HSCL Scheme. The scheme is delivered by 415 full-time HSCL Coordinators who are teachers in these schools and assigned to HSCL duties across 523 schools either in individual schools or clusters of schools.

In respect of the question posed by the Deputy, as there almost 4,000 schools spread across a wide geographical area it is not possible to provide the breakdown requested without extensive detailed analysis of the feasibility of resource allocation between schools.