asked the Minister for Education if she will make a statement on Tullow community school, County Carlow regarding its allocation of teachers for the school year 1988-1989; if this allocation will be on a 20 to one basis or if the special circumstances of this school will be taken into consideration; and if the present existing allocation will be retained.
Written Answers. - Tullow (County Carlow) Community School.
89.
As the Deputy is aware, in accordance with a resolution passed by Dáil Éireann on 9 March 1988 the implications of the decision to increase the pupil-teacher ratio at second level were examined under the aegis of the Central Review Committee of the Programme for National Recovery.
These discussions resulted in the formulation of a draft agreement which offered significant reductions in the number of teaching posts to be saved. The Government has, accordingly, more than honoured the spirit of the Dáil resolution towards ensuring that the burden of adjustment to the new pupil-teacher ratio does not fall on the disadvantaged.
The draft agreement has been endorsed by one of the teacher unions involved but rejected by the other union. The Government has decided, however, in the spirit of the negotiations under the auspices of the Programme for National Recovery, to allocate teaching posts for the coming school-year along the lines of the draft agreement. The allocations will be issued in the coming weeks.