An independent appeals board was established to adjudicate on appeals from boards of management on mainstream staffing allocations in primary schools. The appeals board operates independently of the Minister and the Department. The staffing at the school referred to by the Deputy for the 2003-04 school year was considered by the appeals board. The board was satisfied that a departure from the staffing schedule is not warranted in this case. The board of management of the school was notified of the decision of the appeals board in April. The decision of the appeals board is final. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to intervene in the operation of the independent appeals board.
Teachers who are surplus to the approved quota of teachers in individual schools are placed on relevant panels for re-deployment to schools within the panel area which have fillable vacancies. There is no provision for such teachers to be re-deployed to schools which do not have fillable vacancies.