Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a limit has been placed by her Department on the hours allotted to schools for teacher employment; the amount of hours sanctioned for the school year 2024-2025; if there are plans to increase the provision of hours to schools for teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26047/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2025 provides for an unprecedented €11.8 billion investment in education and schools, an increase of some 9 per cent on the same figure in Budget 2024.

Currently there are almost 88,000 teaching posts allocated across the primary and post-primary school system. This represents an increase of over 10,000 teachers when compared with the 2019/20 school year.

The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September.

The Statistics Section of my Department's website contains extensive data in relation to our schools. The latest statistics available are for the 2023/24 school year. The 2023/24 educational statistical report shows that the average pupil teacher ratio at primary level last year was 12.8:1, while the average class size was 22.5. These ratios, brought about by recent budget improvements, are the lowest averages across the last 20 years. Information on the current school year will be published in the summer.