Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 September 2014
244. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of expediting teacher recruitment so that primary schools would be allocated teachers on the basis of the current school year’s enrolment figures as distinct from the previous year’s enrolment figures. [36352/14]
View answerData in relation to enrolment figures in primary schools in the current school are not yet available to my Department. The number of pupils enrolled in individual schools is provided in the National School Annual Census and refers to the number of pupils enrolled as of the 30th of September in the given academic year. The National School Annual Census is generally returned by schools to the Department by end October. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually. 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 staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year are set out in Circular 0007/2014 which is available on the Department website. The staffing schedule includes the provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds, using projected enrolment for September 2014. In addition, the staffing process includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final. In addition, the staffing appeals process at primary level was extended for the current school year to allow schools that are not gaining an additional teaching post under the developing schools criterion to submit an appeal to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. This appeal criterion is targeted at those schools that make a significant contribution to the provision of school places and so assist the response to demographic growth within their area and, as a result, are under significant pressure on their class sizes at infants level. Circular 0007/2014 provides details for schools wishing to make an appeal. The allocation of all teaching posts is contingent on compliance with redeployment arrangements. The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to the Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and ceiling on teacher numbers. I believe that allocating resources based on projected enrolments for the coming school year is not practical and would impact negatively on the teacher allocation and redeployment process and the timeframes in which this process is completed.
