Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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330. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she expects to be in a position to intervene to support schools at primary and second-level currently experiencing classroom overcrowding or undesirable pupil-teacher ratios; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25455/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources at primary and post primary level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September.

For the 2021/22 school year, an improvement of one point in the appointment threshold in primary schools has been introduced and schools will be provided with class teachers on the basis of 1 teacher for every 25 pupils which is a historically low ratio. In addition, a three point reduction in the retention scale has also been introduced for September 2021. These measures will help to ensure that less pupils are required to recruit or retain a teacher.

The staffing process contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2021/22 school year are set out in Circular 19/2021, available on the Department website.

Teachers are currently allocated to post primary schools at a ratio of 19:1 in the free education system and 23:1 to schools in the fee charging sector. The staffing process for post primary schools includes a curricular concession process for schools to apply for additional allocation as well as an appeals process. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.