Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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803. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a process through which class sizes in post-primary schools are set; if schools are requested to hold places back for any reason; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2166/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. At post primary level, teachers are currently allocated at a ratio of 19:1 in the free education system and 23:1 to schools in the fee charging sector.  The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.

Under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, all schools are required to have drafted new admissions policies, which have been approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. 

All schools must publish an annual admissions notice on the schools website prior to the commencement of the admissions process for the following September. This notice must state the number of spaces that they have available for the intake group for the forthcoming school year. Further to this if the school was oversubscribed in the previous year the school must detail the places that were made available and the selection criteria used to provide places of admission.  

My Department is not aware of any circumstances where schools have been requested to hold back places as referred to by the Deputy. Where the school have places they must admit each student seeking admission to the school other than a small number of circumstances provided for by the act. It is a key requirement of the act that all school admission policies are fair and transparent.