Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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In this the 2022/23 school year, the staffing schedule operates on a general average of 24 pupils to every 1 teacher. This is a historically low level of pupils to teachers. Primary schools also have access to other non-mainstream teachers, including for example special education teachers and language support teachers.

Under the Programme for Government, there is a commitment to make further progress in reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools and I am delighted that significant progress has been made.

Budget 2023 provided an increase of €588 million in education funding, which brought the total amount for education to €9.6 billion. This significant increase built on recent budgets and further enhanced the investment in the primary and post-primary education system. The significant increased investment reflects the Government’s commitment to a quality, inclusive school system with improved learning outcomes for every student.

In Budget 2023, I ensured major investment in our primary schools and I have succeeded in bringing the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools for the 2023/24 school year which is the lowest ever seen at primary level. This was my third successive Budget which saw an improvement in allocation of teachers to primary schools. Budget 2021 reduced the staffing schedule to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 25 pupils, while Budget 2022 reduced it further to 1 classroom teacher for every 24 pupils.

This significantly increased investment reflects my commitment and that of Government to support the educational success of learners by delivering on its commitment to reduce class sizes.

In Budget 2021, I also introduced a three point reduction in the retention schedule, which assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts. The recent announcement in Budget 2023 will further reduce this retention schedule, by virtue of the one point improvement to the staffing schedule that helps to ensure better teacher retention in primary schools, while also ensuring that less pupils are required to retain or recruit a teacher.

This builds on measures in previous budgets that have seen improvements in the overall allocation of teaching posts, and specific targeted measures for small and isolated schools, as well as primary schools on our islands.

The information sought by the Deputy is attached. It should be noted that the 2023/24 figures, which include all types of teaching posts, are provisional as the teacher allocation process for 2023/24 is still ongoing with some schools still finalising their enrolments for September 2023.