Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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144. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps her Department have undertaken to reduce the pupil teacher ratio in an effort to maintain teaching posts while there is a temporary dip in primary school enrolment numbers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40137/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Government is investing a record €11.8 billion into education and schools through Budget 2025.

This record level of investment has allowed the Government to invest in tackling educational disadvantage and supporting those with special educational needs to achieve their full potential. It has enabled huge investment in the school buildings programme, in curriculum reform, in school leadership and in continuous professional development for teachers.

Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to aim to reduce the general Pupil : Teacher Ratio at primary level to 19:1 over the term of government and introduce targeted measures in schools with very large classes.

This will build on the progress which has been made by the previous Government. The general average of pupils to teachers in the Primary Staffing Schedule improved from 26 : 1 five years ago to 23 : 1 for the current school year. Average class sizes in primary schools have improved from 24.1 to 22.5 through the investment we are making in schools.

The Department’s Primary Staffing Schedule is the key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level. This school year, the primary staffing schedule operates on a general average of 23 pupils to every 1 teacher, which is historically the lowest-ever ratio of pupils to teachers at primary level.

More favourable ratios are implemented for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools.

Posts allocated on the basis of this staffing schedule are specifically for mainstream classes. School authorities are requested to ensure that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible, taking all relevant contextual factors into account (classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment). In particular, school authorities should ensure that there is an equitable distribution of pupils in mainstream classes and that the differential between the largest and smallest classes is kept to a minimum. Given that the staffing schedule operates to a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils, if a school has a large class it generally also has a small class.

Schools have the flexibility in the way in which they assign pupils and teachers to classes and my Department does not allocate teachers to specific classes or age groups.

I am very conscious of the Primary Staffing Schedule and the need to prioritise teacher allocations in primary schools.

I am considering how best to make further progress as part of the annual budgetary process in reducing the primary pupil : teacher ratio in the context of Programme for Government implementation.