Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I have been contacted by the principal, staff members and parents of students at St. Mary's Boys' National School in Belturbet, County Cavan. They are reaching out to me and to other representatives in the area as they require immediate assistance with a situation in the school. It is a senior boys' school. Pupils attend from second to sixth class. The school currently has an enrolment of 77, with an increase of five this school year, eight last year and eight the year before, evidencing a rise in enrolment over the past three years.

In March of last year, the school had a projected enrolment of 78 pupils for this school year and the principal applied for a fourth mainstream class teacher for this small school. This application was successful so an excellent newly qualified teacher was recruited. She has begun the Droichead process and the pupils, staff and parents are all very happy with the situation. However, due to reasons beyond their control, some pupils who had enrolled cannot attend the school at present. The school is confident that they will attend by December of this year and feels the Department should take this into consideration. One pupil has enrolled but not yet attended the school due to medical reasons. He is receiving medical treatment abroad. His family has informed the school that he will back in Ireland in November and should be in school from then on. He was present with his peers for the second class induction day in June. That information has been provided to the Department. Two other pupils are awaiting visas. The website specified a three-month wait but that has come and gone and they are still waiting. It has been much longer than three months. They require these visas to get PPS numbers, allowing them to then enrol in the school.

The cut-off point for a fourth teacher is 78. The school has 77 pupils on the roll today and so is one pupil short of the allocation. The school was informed that it would lose the newly appointed teacher. The principal appealed this decision to the staffing appeals board but that appeal was rejected. The loss of this teacher will see average class sizes increase from 19 to 26. The increase may be bigger in some instances, depending on the class the students are in. Is the Minister going to deprive the children in this school in Belturbet of a smaller class size because the numbers state there should be one more pupil in the school, especially when it is known that there is a pupil receiving medical treatment and that there are pupils awaiting visas? These children's parents are living and working in Belturbet so they will be attending. They want to come to the school and will do so as soon as possible. The school will not have the physical capacity to fit these pupils into the classes if it is not left with its fourth teacher and is reduced to only three.

The principal and school community understand that there are rules, cut-off points and so on. If they were not aware of these three students who hope to attend the school before Christmas or if the school's enrolment trend was decreasing, they might understand this action but evidence has been provided that there are students waiting to enrol and attend,, but circumstances beyond their control are preventing them from doing so at the moment. I plead with the Minister for Education to do the right thing and to allow the school to retain the teacher it has just employed.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, for again dealing with this issue.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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It is a busy afternoon, Ceann Comhairle. I thank Deputy Tully for raising this very important matter. I am glad to have the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Education, to update the House on the response.

On primary school staffing, the key factor in determining the level of staffing resources provided to an individual school is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The primary staffing arrangements for the 2024-25 school year are set out in Circular 11/2024. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar schools equally, irrespective of location. It is an important feature of the staffing schedule that all schools are treated equally and fairly.

In the three previous successive budgets, priority has been given to improving the staffing schedule in primary schools. This has brought the teacher allocation ratio to an average of one classroom teacher for every 23 pupils in all primary schools, the most favourable ratio ever seen at primary level. A three-point reduction in the retention schedule introduced in 2021 assists schools that would otherwise be at risk of losing teaching posts. Teacher allocations were also improved for DEIS urban band 1 schools, where pupil-teacher ratios now stand at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively.

On the staffing appeals process, the staffing arrangements include an appeals mechanism allowing schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain published criteria. The appeals board works independently of the Minister and the Department and comprises four members, typically retired school principals and a retired inspector. Schools can appeal under a number of different criteria including small school appeals, exceptional accommodation difficulties and projected enrolment posts. The primary staffing appeals board meets three times per year, in March, June and October.

In some instances, the appeals board may approve posts on a provisional basis in March or June, pending confirmation that the school has achieved the required appointment or retention enrolment threshold on 30 September. In cases where schools do not meet their projected enrolment numbers, the provisional teaching posts allocated during the March appeals process are suppressed. This takes effect from the last working day in October, ensuring that staffing levels remain aligned with actual student numbers in the school.

The school referred to by the Deputy was successful in its appeal to the March meeting of the primary staffing appeals board and was informed that the post was provisional on the school achieving an enrolment of 78 on 30 September 2024. However, the school did not achieve the required enrolment and was therefore informed that the post would be suppressed at the end of October in accordance with the arrangements for provisional posts set out in the primary school staffing arrangements. The school then submitted an appeal to the October meeting of the primary staffing appeals board, requesting to retain the additional post.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I know the Minister of State is giving a reply on behalf of the Minister for Education but the reply just outlines the process, which I am aware of. The school appealed the decision and was turned down. That is what I am raising here. The appeal the school made in October was turned down last week as a result of the school being one pupil short despite it being known that there are three pupils waiting to come in. That is why I am bringing this up here. I am asking the Minister to go back to the Department, to discuss this with her officials and to relent on the decision to refuse the appeal. This young teacher is asking what she is going to do now. She is actually considering emigrating. We are going to lose another teacher. We are already some 1,000 teachers short in the primary school sector. We do not want to lose any more. It is a very harsh decision when we know there are pupils willing to come into the school once they are able. It is not that they are being kept at home.

I also want to raise my concern for students awaiting visas to get PPS numbers to enrol in schools. These children are attending from second class to sixth class so they are aged somewhere between seven and 12 or 13. These children are out of school, which is concerning. That is a wider issue that we need to address. No child, no matter what country they come here from, should be out of school for months on end.

The parents are working, living and contributing to our economy in Ireland. Will the Minister of State look at this case again?

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. I had not been informed of the outcome of the October appeal. Deputy Tully is telling me it was also refused, is that correct?

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Yes.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I will certainly pick that up with the Minister and have that discussion. I will make sure he is aware of it. Deputy Tully said there are three other children imminently to arrive in the school, is that correct?

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Yes.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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It is always difficult with education cases in any scenario, especially in cases when there are a set of rules and a case falls just below the line, such as in this case. I believe the numbers Deputy Tully suggested were 77 versus 78. These calls are always difficult ones. People who are on boards of appeal and hearings having to adjudicate on these cases always find themselves in a difficult situation. Often, sticking to the letter of the rules is a way to ensure transparency and consistency. I appreciate completely, however, that there may be extenuating circumstances in this case.

The Deputy made the point that there may be three additional students coming in. That is a fair point. I do not know whether that was considered in the appeal, although it would not be helpful for me to speculate whether it was. All I can do is pass those observations on to the Minister for Education. Deputy Tully might engage further in that regard after that.