Pupil-Teacher Ratio.

Wednesday, 25 October 2006

Questions (208)

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

267 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide a breakdown in class size figures for primary schools per county, for the school year beginning September 2006 and the previous five school years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34877/06]

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Written answers

Minister for Education and Science (Ms Hanafin)

Information in relation to classes is provided in the annual census of primary schools. The reference date for the provision by schools of this information is the 30th September of the school year in question and the date for return by the schools is 31 October. Consequently, the details for the current school year (2006/2007) are not yet available. The information for the previous 5 school years is provided in the table set out below.

As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at primary in recent years. There are now 4000 more primary teachers than there were in 2002. The average class size in our primary schools is 24 and there is now one teacher for 17 pupils at primary level, including resource teachers etc. Children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas are getting more support than ever before to help them to make the most of their time at school. Indeed, with the thousands of extra primary teachers hired by this Government, recent years have seen the largest expansion in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. Furthermore, the Government is committed to providing even more primary teachers next year to reduce class sizes.

As you know all primary schools are staffed on a general rule of at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children. Of course, schools with only one or two teachers have much lower staffing ratios than that with two teachers for just 12 pupils in some cases and so on — but the general rule is that there is at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children in the school. Next year (2007/2008 school year) this is being reduced to 27 children per classroom teacher. A further initiative that has been of direct benefit to primary schools has been the change in the criteria for developing schools. For the current school year the threshold for getting a developing school post was reduced specifically to help schools that are seeing large increases in enrolments each year. Over 280 such posts were sanctioned in the 2006/07 school year, compared to 170 in 2005/06. This Government has shown a clear determination to improve the staffing in our schools and we will continue to prioritise this issue going forward.

Number of Pupils by Class Size Range by County (2005/2006)

	0-9	10-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40 & Over	Totals
Carlow	8	462	1,353	2,270	1,304	142		5539
Cavan	32	1,282	2,199	2,334	1,552	285		7,684
Clare	150	1,740	3,242	3,504	2,476	640	41	11,793
Cork City	60	2,930	3,324	4,193	2,754	286		13,547
Cork County	192	3,769	8,166	13,401	9,592	1,792	44	36,956
Donegal	154	2,789	4,904	5,914	3,300	185		17,246
Dublin Belgard		3,501	5,796	10,541	6,495	245		26,578
Dublin City	56	8,811	10,000	13,346	8,133	360		40,706
Dublin Fingal		1,251	3,122	10,775	9,021	322		24,491
Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown	16	1,413	2,567	6,379	4,989	248	0	15612
Galway City	9	1,094	1,165	2,066	1,366	35		5,735
Galway County	292	3,979	4,987	5,073	2,830	214	40	17,415
Kerry	105	2,252	4,161	4,969	2,898	70		14,455
Kildare		990	3,761	10,437	6,351	531		22,070
Kilkenny	9	1,248	2,126	3,332	2,383	176		9,274
Laois	26	816	1,641	3,169	1,466	72		7,190
Leitrim	32	819	861	953	160	146		2,971
Limerick City	27	1,249	1,491	1,973	1,392	106		6,238
Limerick County	104	1,719	3,371	5,184	2,758	212		13,348
Longford	80	699	997	1,292	471	71		3,610
Louth		1,097	2,967	5,260	3,731	282		13,337
Mayo	228	3,264	3,654	4,204	1,654	186		13,190
Meath	24	1,201	3,586	7,827	5,220	757		18,615
Monaghan	52	926	1,785	2,126	1,139	214		6,242
Offaly	25	1,000	2,413	3,516	1,684			8,638
Roscommon	138	1,622	1,867	1,685	721	148	40	6,221
Sligo	49	1,226	2,133	1,911	975	143		6,437
Tipperary N.R.	21	1,131	2,612	2,515	913	106	41	7,339
Tipperary S.R.	30	1,397	3,273	2,882	1,358	284		9,224
Waterford City		342	1,272	2,668	1,021	72		5,375
Waterford County	9	863	1,723	2,771	1,109	248		6,723
Westmeath	40	1,004	2,416	3,352	2,282	144		9,238
Wexford	27	1,449	3,797	5,922	3,503	497		15,195
Wicklow	25	1,336	3,065	4,621	4,222	465		13,734
Totals	2,020	60,671	105,797	162,365	101,223	9,684	206	441,966

Number of Pupils by Class Size Range by County (2004/2005)

	0-9	10-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40 & Over	Totals
Carlow	16	474	1,297	2,034	1,491	105		5,417
Cavan	61	1,488	1,810	2,625	1,370	35		7,389
Clare	109	2,083	3,326	2,974	2,792	357		11,641
Cork City	32	3,013	3,320	4,129	2,945	214		13,653
Cork County	138	4,267	7,916	13,239	9,041	1,369	41	36,011
Donegal	139	2,962	4,649	5,572	3,625	179		17,126
Dublin Belgard	9	3,672	5,478	9,705	6,951	393		26,208
Dublin City	130	8,667	9,801	13,295	8,010	570	41	40,514
Dublin Fingal		995	3,493	10,142	8,409	212		23,251
Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown		1,473	2,358	6,378	5,130	274		15,613
Galway City	26	1,089	1,283	1,868	1,217	140		5,623
Galway County	266	4,346	4,433	5,176	2501	362		17084
Kerry	87	2,113	3,918	5,258	2,779	185		14,340
Kildare	9	811	3,862	9,378	6,560	670		21,290
Kilkenny	8	1,072	2,728	2,665	2,290	430		9,193
Laois	7	1,050	1,756	2,801	1,181	142		6,937
Leitrim	38	680	958	950	285	71		2,982
Limerick City	40	1,433	1,248	2,205	1,278	35		6,239
Limerick County	77	1,898	3,657	4,416	2,949	249		13,246
Longford	121	632	824	1,432	500	35		3,544
Louth	9	1,306	2,938	4,568	3,398	356		12,575
Mayo	297	3,162	4,022	4,111	1,528	106		13,226
Meath	16	1,171	3,692	7,194	5,118	461	40	17,692
Monaghan	15	1,031	1,850	1,980	1,076	213		6,165
Offaly	34	990	2,202	3,684	1,300	180		8,390
Roscommon	168	1,533	1,800	1,753	773	36		6,063
Sligo	86	1,401	1,863	1,654	1,373			6377
Tipperary N.R.	30	1,422	2,259	2,375	936	105		7,127
Tipperary S.R.	46	1,428	2,887	3,231	1,452	217		9,261
Waterford City		645	1,287	2,144	1,092			5,168
Waterford County		997	1,850	2,229	1,190	284		6,550
Westmeath	46	1,091	2,404	3,522	1,827	144		9,034
Wexford	18	1,451	3,876	5,812	3,389	285	40	14,871
Wicklow	17	1,628	3,055	4,951	3,547	322		13520
Total	2,095	63,474	104,100	155,450	99,303	8,736	162	433,320

Number of Pupils by Class Size Range by County (2003/2004)

	0-9	10-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40 & Over	Totals
Carlow	25	631	1,363	2,201	970	105		5,295
Cavan	35	1,389	2,170	2,501	1,043	35		7,173
Clare	137	2,240	2,502	3,498	2,426	644		11,447
Cork City	40	3,187	3,552	3,789	2,868	392		13,828
Cork County	148	4,000	8,666	13,608	8,063	1,004	40	35,529
Donegal	178	2,954	4,704	5,433	3,546	145		16,960
Dublin Belgard	9	3,196	6,078	9,000	7,118	462	46	25,909
Dublin City	136	8,642	10,227	13,201	8,261	571		41,038
Dublin Fingal	9	992	3,591	9,847	7,877	425		22,741
Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown		1,374	2,837	6,167	5,311	140	0	15829
Galway City	42	1,060	1,179	2,004	1,211	70		5,566
Galway County	259	4,100	4,628	4,460	3,038	470		16,955
Kerry	52	2,305	3,821	5,242	2,609	180		14,209
Kildare	9	895	3,396	8,727	7,037	707		20,771
Kilkenny	8	1,158	2,473	3,079	2,131	284		9,133
Laois	36	920	1,529	2,799	1,368	182		6,834
Leitrim	53	616	855	870	543	36		2,973
Limerick City	27	1,275	1,227	2,606	1,235	71		6,441
Limerick County	105	2,094	3,525	4,353	2,717	397		13,191
Longford	99	740	1,028	1,241	376			3,484
Louth	1	1,616	2,589	4,438	3,221	425		12,290
Mayo	224	3,950	3,765	3,661	1,365	251		13,216
Meath	38	1,664	3,243	6,310	5,291	424	44	17,014
Monaghan	48	1,000	1,731	2,199	994	220		6,192
Offaly	19	1,218	2,259	3,566	1,051	105		8,218
Roscommon	166	1,635	1,931	1,510	758	35		6,035
Sligo	87	1,208	1,983	2,076	1,102			6,456
Tipperary N.R.	22	1,261	2,418	2,434	754	144		7033
Tipperary S.R.	33	1,663	2,532	3,683	1,287	35		9,233
Waterford City		548	1,640	1,797	1,156	70		5,211
Waterford County	17	1,038	1,679	2,239	1,276	176		6,425
Westmeath	55	1,102	2,249	3,568	1,844	105		8,923
Wexford		1,394	3,775	5,997	3,050	464	42	14,722
Wicklow	37	1,216	3,124	5,306	3,328	426		13,437
Totals	2,154	64,281	104,269	153,410	96,225	9,200	172	429,711

Number of Pupils by Class Size Range by County (2002/2003)

	0-9	10-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40 & Over	Totals
Carlow		541	1,456	2,051	1,199	71		5,318
Cavan	14	1,326	2,021	2,361	1,230	176		7,128
Clare	100	2,154	3,063	3,003	2,374	640	42	11,376
Cork City	26	2,776	3,518	3,973	3,448	423		14,164
Cork County	206	4,654	8,200	12,503	8,132	1,366	44	35,105
Donegal	172	3,226	4,599	5,202	3,386	245		16,830
Dublin Belgard	8	3,518	5,234	8,882	7,706	429	40	25,817
Dublin City	48	8,785	10,987	12,130	8,824	533		41,307
Dublin Fingal	7	1,235	3,471	9,007	7,467	892	82	22,161
Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown	26	1,418	2,698	5,646	5,759	492	0	16,039
Galway City	9	911	1,140	1,775	1,436	391		5,662
Galway County	206	3,879	4,610	5,322	2,599	252		16,868
Kerry	73	2,351	3,425	5,422	2,608	290		14,169
Kildare	9	669	3,036	8,778	6,917	854		20,263
Kilkenny	9	1,134	2,554	2,901	2,246	212	83	9,139
Laois	18	920	1,669	2,545	1,312	179		6,643
Leitrim	29	708	822	968	345	37		2,909
Limerick City	8	1,378	1,530	2,250	1,270	35		6,471
Limerick County	106	1,845	3,411	4,668	2,792	396		13,218
Longford	132	819	840	1,084	567			3442
Louth	7	1,291	2,592	4,459	3,536	251		12,136
Mayo	158	3,563	4,030	3,922	1,748	107		13,528
Meath	16	1,048	3,283	6,661	4,426	877	83	16,394
Monaghan	49	1,054	1,728	2,020	1,292	38	40	6,221
Offaly	20	1,369	2,237	3,097	1,284	149	41	8,197
Roscommon	149	1,773	1,838	1,430	659	74		5,923
Sligo	68	1,033	1,912	2,344	935	181		6,473
Tipperary N.R.	27	1,319	2,221	2,480	788	178		7,013
Tipperary S.R.	33	1,601	2,390	3,641	1,449	146		9,260
Waterford City	9	521	1,293	2,076	1,160	178		5,237
Waterford County		876	1,834	2,287	1,246	142		6,385
Westmeath	31	1,190	2,281	3,234	1,999			8,735
Wexford	10	1,265	3,994	5,950	2,815	397		14,431
Wicklow	30	1,438	2,883	4,820	3,728	389		13,288
Totals	1,813	63,588	102,800	148,892	98,682	11,020	455	427,250

Number of Pupils by Class Size Range by County (2001/2002)

	0-9	10-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40 & Over	Totals
Carlow	16	528	1,289	1,970	1,309	144		5,256
Cavan	21	1,210	2,212	2,365	1,070	70		6,948
Clare	116	2,073	2,784	3,030	2,646	607		11,256
Cork City	17	2,270	3,653	4,000	3,725	815		14,480
Cork County	228	4,414	7,959	12,105	8,224	1,690	122	34,742
Donegal	120	2,908	4,621	5,201	3,518	461		16,829
Dublin Belgard	14	3,604	4,948	8,576	8,187	461		25,790
Dublin City	128	8,182	10,973	12,384	9,262	678	47	41,654
Dublin Fingal		1,277	3,273	8,474	7,596	1,143	40	21,803
Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown	8	1,441	2,359	5,284	6,372	635	44	16,143
Galway City	4	756	1,153	2,262	1,289	177		5641
Galway County	269	3,696	4,640	5,223	2,637	250	41	16,756
Kerry	79	2,105	3,920	4,672	2,807	361	80	14,024
Kildare	9	900	2,678	7,831	7,299	928	41	19,686
Kilkenny		921	2,292	3,668	2,145	145		9,171
Laois	24	842	1,942	2,114	1,402	246		6,570
Leitrim	44	730	738	985	311	72		2,880
Limerick City	27	1,173	1,438	2,141	1,700	35		6,514
Limerick County	91	2,059	3,016	4,506	3,143	288	85	13,188
Longford	75	737	732	1,293	590	35		3,462
Louth	7	1,418	2,189	4,407	3,377	462		11,860
Mayo	165	3,500	3,833	4,242	1,695	109		13,544
Meath	17	1,011	3,260	6,633	4,058	682	40	15,701
Monaghan	61	968	1,965	2,170	878	216		6,258
Offaly	12	1,183	2,248	3,328	1,169	108		8,048
Roscommon	165	1,548	1,994	1,408	821	71		6,007
Sligo	84	1,271	1,921	2,035	939	177		6,427
Tipperary N.R.	55	1,456	1,874	2,368	923	179		6,855
Tipperary S.R.	30	1,562	2,754	3,075	1,675	141		9,237
Waterford City		414	1,357	1,962	1,300	177		5,210
Waterford County	7	927	1,680	2,543	1,133	71		6,361
Westmeath	37	999	2,153	3,647	1,614	246		8,696
Wexford	13	1,282	3,621	5,330	3,413	426		14085
Wicklow	24	1,219	2,768	5,043	3,704	608		13366
Totals	1,967	60,584	100237	146275	101931	12914	540	424448