School Staff
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-11
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Timmy Dooley (FF), Clare

I thank the Deputies. I understand and get the difficulty but there have to be objective criteria for allocating or reducing the number of teachers. My understanding is that, with the awarding of DEIS plus status, the school got additional resources. I set that out for the Deputies. There was an additional element. I get that it is challenging when there is a reduction of just one. If it were five or seven, it might be more easily comprehended and accepted. I will, of course, bring this matter directly to the attention of the Minister, but my understanding is that her hands are tied on this because, as with anything, there is the law of unintended consequences. Where provision is made for one, the impact on so many others must be thought about. I am not going to put the Minister in a position where she is a hostage to fortune but I will relay the Deputies' comments to her. If an engagement has to take place afterwards or something positive can come out of it, we will happily get back to the Deputies.
While I fully understand the sentiments that they expressed and the impact on the school, there has to be an objective criterion for managing fluctuations in pupil-teacher ratios and school numbers. The Deputies are all asking, given that it is obvious that the number enrolled next year will return to the previous level, whether there is an interim solution. On that basis, I will ask the Minister for guidance from the Department. Let us see where we go with that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-11