School Staff
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

The primary school staffing schedule is a long-standing feature of the primary allocation system which ensures fairness and transparency in the allocation of mainstream class teachers in primary schools across the country. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided in an individual school is a staffing schedule for the relevant school year and the number of pupils enrolled on the previous 30 September. Staffing arrangements for primary schools for 2026-27 are set out in Circular 0025/2026. Having an enrolment of 479 pupils in September 2024, Bunscoil Chríost Rí has a current mainstream staffing of an administrative principal and 20 mainstream teachers.
The information given to me is that school enrolment fell to 453 pupils last September. The Deputy mentioned the figure was 455. Perhaps that is something we might check. This enrolment allows for mainstream staffing comprising an administrative principal and 18 classroom teachers for the 2026-27 school year, with two fewer teachers than are currently in place. The school also has additional supporting staff comprising nine special education teachers, one English as an additional language, EAL, teacher and three special class teachers under the rural DEIS and non-DEIS home school community liaison initiative. The school has been allocated a shared home school liaison teacher based on enrolment for the 2026-27 school year.
The Department has adapted to the dynamic landscape of student enrolment and has prioritised enhanced English as an additional language support.
An online portal system was introduced in the current year to allow schools to apply in a timely and efficient manner. Following the application process, Bunscoil Chríost Rí has been informed of an EAL allocation of ten hours per week for the 2026-27 school year in addition to the permanent EAL post that is in place within the school. This is less than the current EAL allocation and corresponds with an increase in the overall enrolment in the school enrolments of pupils with EAL needs.
As I understand it and as it is presented to me, the school is not losing five teachers in the 2026-27 school year. The staffing arrangements, and I would be very strong on this, which have been long-standing, include arrangements for an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain published criteria. The primary staffing appeals board meets three times a year. The board met in May and will meet again later this month. It is important that the school, if it wishes, should submit an appeal on the staffing allocations to the appeals board with all the necessary supporting information it can have from the school cohort and the school community as well. This will be a crucial meeting of the appeals board in June this year to try to ensure we have everything in place for September insofar as possible. However, I encourage the school to make sure an appeal is submitted. The application forms are available on Circular 0025/2026. It is important we have sight of that and that a decision is made by the appeals board which, as the Deputy knows, is independent of the Department. Information should be submitted as soon as possible.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10