School Staff
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-27
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

Addressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for both me, as Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth, and for the entire Government. The DEIS plus programme represents a significant expansion of targeted educational supports. It is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based supports to 121 schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people experiencing persistent and inter-generational disadvantage. Approximately 30,000 children and young people nationally will benefit from the scheme. Schools in the DEIS plus programme will receive strengthened, research-informed supports across well-being, attendance, engagement, guidance, leadership capacity, community partnerships and access to services, including the introduction of a new positive mental health and well-being initiative to support a whole-school approach to student well-being.
Teacher numbers at primary level have reached the highest ever level in the current school year. There are over 43,000 teaching posts across the primary school system. This represents an increase of just over 5,000 teachers when compared with the 2019-2020 school year. This has led to a steady improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio and average class sizes during the period. In recent budgets, priority was given to reducing the pupil-teacher ratios in primary schools, which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of one classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the most favourable ratio ever seen at primary level. More favourable ratios are implemented in DEIS urban band 1, including DEIS plus schools, at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively. A three-point reduction in the retention schedule, which was introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teachers.
The latest figures for pupil-teacher ratio show an improved ratio of pupils to teachers from 15:1 to 12:1 at primary level when comparing the 2019-2020 school year to the 2024-2025 school year. In the same period, primary staffing schedules improved from 26:1 to 23:1, and average class sizes at primary school level have improved from 24:1 to 22.2:1. In the same period, St. Francis Junior School had a primary teacher ratio of one teacher for every 9.5 students and a class size of one teacher for every 19 students.
The key factor in determining the level of staffing resources provided to individual schools is the staffing schedule for relevant school years and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The primary staffing schedule is a long-standing feature of our primary school allocation system which ensures fairness and transparency in allocating mainstream class teachers across our primary schools, regardless of location. The staffing arrangements include an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain published criteria.
The school referred the Deputy referred to currently has ten mainstream teachers. As the school's enrolment fell below the required enrolment threshold, the mainstream staffing is due to be reduced by one in September. The school submitted an appeal to the primary staffing appeals board. This was unsuccessful. The primary staffing appeals board operates completely independently of the Department and its decision is final. We have to have a system where we have some metrics to ensure that we have staffing across the education system.
I take the points the Deputy has made but unfortunately the numbers dictate. It was the Department's decision and then the independent appeals body supported that decision.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-27