Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2016
282. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary and secondary school teachers recruited in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9785/16]
View answerTeacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.
The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.
The Statistics Section of my Department's website contains extensive data relating to schools at primary and post-primary level, including teaching posts. The most recent published information relates to the 2014/15 school year.
The overall number of wholetime equivalent teaching posts at primary level has increased by 6%, a total of 1,904 teaching posts from the 2009/10 school year to the 2014/15 school year. The increase at post-primary level for the corresponding period is 1.5%, a total of 371 teaching posts.
Data in relation to the 2015/16 school year will be published later in the Summer.
The Deputy will be aware that there is a provision in Budget 2016 for some 2,260 additional teaching posts for our primary and post primary schools for the 2016/17 school year. These posts will provide for an improvement in the staffing schedules at primary and post primary levels, enhance the leadership and management roles of deputy principals at post-primary level by reducing their teaching time, an improvement to the scheme of release time for principal teachers at primary level and additional resource posts to meet special education needs.
