Written answer
School Staff
The Minister said Budget 2027 funds 1,600 teachers and commissioned an evidence-based plan to reduce ratios; 2027/28 allocations will be announced in spring.
119. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the Programme for Government commitment regarding the teacher to pupil ratio target of 19:1; and if schools in Dublin mid-west who lost a teacher from their allocation for this school year (details supplied), resulting in split classes, will regain the teaching posts for the next school year. [74900/26]
Comment on this
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.
The staffing arrangements for the 2027/28 school year will be published in the Spring and at that stage, schools will be able to establish their staffing for next September.