Pupil-Teacher Ratio
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-01
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Joe O'Reilly (FG), Labour Panel

He was a very distinguished Irish National Teachers Organisation member and delegate. That emphasises how young Senator Cosgrove still is.
To go back to the point, I acknowledge progress but we need more. What I am asking is that we have a commitment to, and practical implementation in the next budget in respect of, a further reduction in class sizes, with an emphasis on the training and recruitment of teachers to fill vacant posts, because there is a real lacuna in the number of available teachers. We should not have substitution all the time, using untrained personnel in many instances. Could we consider how we accommodate the small schools in rural Ireland and build in flexibility, while not going to ridiculous levels, obviously? Nobody is suggesting that. It is a matter of how we build in sensible flexibility that would maintain our small schools. I am aware that this subject is close to the Minister of State's heart.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-01