Written answer
School Staff
The Minister cited improved staffing ratios and 1,600 planned teachers, and said an evidence-based pathway will guide further class-size and pupil-teacher ratio reductions.
118. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of pupils in mainstream classes of more than 30 given the impact of these class sizes on pupils’ learning and the ability of teachers to meet individual needs. [74056/26]
Comment on this
The primary staffing schedule has improved from an average allocation ratio of 26:1 five years ago to 23:1 for the current school year, the lowest ever at primary level. Average class sizes have fallen from 24.1 to 21.9 pupils, while the overall pupil : teacher ratio improved from 15:1 in 2019/20 to 12.6:1 in 2025/26, comparing favourably with the OECD average of 14:1. More favourable staffing arrangements also apply in DEIS Urban Band 1 schools.
The Government is investing a record €14.4 billion into education and schools through Budget 2027. This record level of investment includes €646 million funding to place education and youth services on a more sustainable basis; a further €712 million in current funding for 2027, and €1.6 billion in capital investment from the National Development Plan which demonstrates the Government’s commitment to education, inclusion and opportunity.
Funding for approximately 1,600 new teachers has been provided for in Budget 2027. This brings the total number of teachers in our school system to circa. 82,000. Of these 1,600 new teachers, 1,353are special education teachers working in special classes, special schools and mainstream, to further support children with special educational needs. Additional Home School Community Liaison coordinators are being provided for in our DEIS Plus schools. Increased school leadership supports are also being provided, increasing the number of deputy principals in our schools. This means more teachers than ever before will be working in our education system. We are also increasing capitation funding to provide schools with greater certainty and to help meet the real costs of running schools across the country.
With that stronger foundation now in place, my focus is on delivering our Programme for Government commitments, including reducing pupil-teacher ratios and class sizes over the lifetime of this Government. To support this, I have asked my department to develop a clear evidence-based pathway that reflects both the staffing and capital investment required.