Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 March 2012
98 Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teaching posts being removed from a school (details supplied) in County Dublin; the reason for the removal of these posts; the timescale for the removal of these posts; if he will reconsider the decision to remove these posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12084/12]
View answerBudget 2012 provided for the phased withdrawal of approximately 428 posts allocated to some schools under disadvantage programmes prior to the introduction of the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) Initiative in 2005. As already announced, the withdrawal of 192 posts from primary schools outside DEIS Band 1 and 2 and from DEIS second level schools will proceed, including the 38 posts from 15 non-DEIS schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy. Where a school is losing three or more posts as a result of the combination of budget and reform measures, an application can be made to the Staffing Appeals Board with a view to seeking to have a portion of the loss in posts deferred to the 2013-14 school year on the basis that it is having a particularly adverse impact on the school's overall allocation. The priority for my Department is to complete the teacher allocation process at this time. Notifications are currently being finalised to issue to each school losing disadvantaged posts from previous schemes, of their staffing entitlements for 2012-13. Notification to the school to which the Deputy refers will issue before the end of this week, providing details of its staffing for 2012-13, including posts being withdrawn and details of the appeals mechanism open to the school.
