Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 October 2014
97. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the fact that Irish primary schools are among the most overcrowded in the EU, with an average of 25 pupils per class; if there will be no increases to mainstream primary class sizes in 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39324/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt primary level the staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location. The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. The primary staffing schedule currently operates on the basis of a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 28 pupils, with lower thresholds for DEIS Band 1 schools. My Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible taking all relevant contextual factors into account (e.g. classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment etc.). School authorities are also requested, where possible, to use their autonomy under the staffing schedule to implement smaller class sizes for junior classes. Because of increasing demographics my Department requires additional resources to simply maintain existing levels of service. Between this year and last year this has involved an increase of around 2,300 teachers. This is a very significant investment at a time of scarce resources. There is no funding available for further improvements and it is premature within our budgetary context to be looking for this to be done. It is important to point out that within the schools sector we know from international research that while class sizes is a factor the quality of teaching is a far more significant factor in determining outcomes. In terms of international comparison, the last published statistics by the OECD are for the 2011/12 school year. They show Ireland's PTR at slightly above the OECD average and average class size at primary level at 24.4 compared to an OECD average of 21.3. The Department's most recently published statistics are for the 2013/14 school year. They show an average class size at primary level of 24.8.
