Fiona O'Loughlin
Question:262. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35777/18]
View answerFriday, 7 September 2018
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Budget 2018 marked the second year of major reinvestment in the education sector, as we continue to implement the Action Plan for Education, which has the central aim to make the Irish education and training service the best in Europe within a decade.
Since September 2016, my Department has provided for 4800 additional teachers across the school system. These improvements improved the ratio of teachers to students from 16:1 to 15.3:1 at primary level and 14.1:1 to 13.1:1 at post-primary level.
Budget 2018 provided for a further 1280 posts from September 2018.
At primary level, 145 additional teachers have been allocated to meet demographic needs, 305 posts to reduce the staffing schedule by 1 point and a further 30 resource teachers and 163 SEN teachers.
At post-primary level, 400 additional teachers have been allocated to meet demographic needs, with an additional 70 resource teachers, 100 teachers in respect of Guidance and 67 SEN teachers.
Any additional improvement would have to be considered as part of the next annual budgetary process, alongside the many other demands from the education sector.