580. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the average primary school class size and ratio in County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34410/26]

The average mainstream class size in County Meath is 22.8 as per the 2024 Primary Class Size tables published on the DEY website and can be found at the link below. We expect to publish class data for the 2025-2026 academic year in June 2026.

[www.gov.ie/en/collection/class-size-information-at-individual-primary-school-level/] .

Teacher allocations are made to clusters of schools that cross over county boundaries, and ETBs which include multiple counties, therefore pupil teacher ratio (PTR) by county is not available.

Priority was given in recent Budgets to reducing the pupil teacher ratios in primary schools which has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the most favourable ratio ever seen at primary level. Teacher allocations for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools have also been improved and now stand at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively.

In 2015, teachers were allocated to primary schools at a general average of 28 pupils for every one teacher. In the same 10 year period, average class sizes in primary schools have improved from 24.9 to 22.2 and the pupil : teacher ratio shows the ratio of pupils to teachers improve from 16:1 to 12.8:1. In addition to the reductions in the teacher allocation ratio, a three-point reduction in the retention schedule, which was introduced in 2021, assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts.