Vol. 402 No. 5
203 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Education the average Irish and European primary class size and the Irish primary class average; the number of classes with more than the European average; and the number of classes which have more than the 35 which is the maximum limit as set down by her Department.
The overall pupil teacher ratio for the country is 26.7
The average primary class size in this country was 31 in the school year 1988-89, the most recent year for which statistics are available. There is no average European class size as such, average class sizes in the individual countries varying over a range.
Details are not available at present of the number of classes with more than 35 pupils. The maximum class sizes according to the Department's guidelines are 39 in the case of a single grade class group; 38 in the case of a consecutive grade class group; and 35 in the case of a multi-grade class group).
