2026-06-11

I wish to raise the issue of St. Francis Junior National School as it is set to lose one of its mainstream teachers because it was short one pupil. One teacher is going to be lost because of the lack of one single pupil. This is ridiculous, bureaucratic, box-ticking nonsense. The school appealed this decision and, in turn, that appeal was refused. It is frustrating to engage with the Department. In fact, the issue with the Department is that it does not engage but rather stonewalls any request for movement. It is important that we make it clear who will suffer here. Ultimately, it is going to be the children of the school who will be impacted by this ridiculous decision. St. Francis Junior National School is not only a DEIS school but recently got DEIS plus status. It caters for a community with social and economic challenges. Many of the children attending the school have complex needs and have not attended any sort of preschool. The school and its teachers catch any sign of relevant needs-----

I thank the Deputy. He is taking time from his colleagues. I call Deputy Ó Muirí.

As Deputy Brabazon said, St. Francis Junior National School is a fabulous school in a challenging area. The school had the joy and elation of achieving DEIS plus status, which was very important for it, but now it faces the dismay of losing a teacher shortly after. This is happening when the pupil numbers are clearly coming back up for the school next year. There are 66 children from Traveller families in this school, and we know the challenges that this brings for the education system and for those families. It is important that the school is part of the DEIS plus initiative and that we support it. We need to advocate for the school. That is why we are here and that is what we are doing. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister not for the decision to be reversed, but for a temporary arrangement to be put in place for one year, as has been done previously, to deal with this situation.

The key point here is that the school will have the numbers in the coming year. It will be above the threshold in coming year. All we need is a fix for this year. This was done before in 2020. The Minister for Education at that point intervened with a one-year fixed term contract. We are talking about the school being short one pupil last year. This is a school that has extra enrolments late every year, after 30 September, so this needs to be taken into account as well. I urge the Minister of State and the Minister for Education and Youth to put this situation right and get a solution in place for this year for the benefit of this great school, its dedicated staff and the pupils that really need action on this matter.

St. Francis Junior National School in Priorswood is short just one pupil. All five local TDs attended a meeting there. I am very proud when Dublin Bay North TDs come together on educational issues. While we differ politically, we have one passion, and that is representing north Dublin. The fact that all the constituency’s TDs are here shows this. A total of 40% of the pupils attending this school are from the Traveller community. Many of them are arriving in this school and need this support. The school is short one pupil and it is losing a teacher. There is a precedent for an additional teacher to be allocated. When a school misses out by just one pupil and loses one teacher, the system is wrong and it needs to be changed.

As has been said, this is a fantastic school. It serves a disadvantaged community. As has been said as well, 40% of the students in the school are from the Traveller community. This school has children attending from Darndale and the wider community around Priorswood. The decision that has been taken, therefore, is absolutely ridiculous. The school was short just one pupil by a specific date, and this means it is going to lose a teacher. It was already said that all five TDs met the school community. This school community is very angry at this decision. Will the Minister intervene and either overrule the decision or find some other mechanism to make sure that this school does not lose its teacher?

I thank the Deputies very much. It is refreshing to see everybody on the same side of an important issue like this. Addressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for this Government. The DEIS plus scheme represents a significant expansion of targeted educational supports. It is designed to provide enhanced, evidence-based supports to schools with the highest concentrations of children and young people experiencing persistent and intergenerational disadvantage. Approximately 30,000 children and young people nationally will benefit from inclusion in the scheme in 121 schools. Schools in the DEIS plus scheme will receive strengthened, research-informed supports across well-being, attendance, engagement, guidance, leadership capacity, community partnerships and access to services, including the introduction of a new positive mental health and well-being initiative to support a whole-school approach to student well-being. As part of St. Francis National School’s inclusion in the DEIS plus scheme, the school will gain a positive mental health and well-being co-ordinator, PMHW, which is a full-time post of one teacher, and two administrative release days per week for the school’s deputy principal. Teacher numbers at primary level have reached the highest ever level in the current school year. Currently there are over 43,000 teaching posts allocated across the primary school system. This represents an increase of just over 5,000 teachers when compared with the 2019-20 school year, and this has led to a steady improvement in the pupil:teacher ratio and average class size during this period. In recent budgets, prioritisation was given to reducing the pupil-teacher ratios in primary schools, which 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. More favourable ratios are implemented for DEIS urban band 1, including DEIS plus schools, at an average of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively. 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. The latest figures relating to pupil-teacher ratio show an improved ratio of pupils to teachers, from 15:1 to 12.8:1, at primary level when comparing the 2019-20 school year to the 2024-25 school year. In the same period, the primary staffing schedule improved from 26:1 to 23:1 and average class sizes at primary level have improved from 24:1 to 22.2:1. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The primary staffing schedule is a long-standing feature of the primary allocation system, which ensures fairness and transparency in the allocation of mainstream class teachers across our primary schools, regardless of location. St. Francis Junior National School currently has ten mainstream teachers. As the school’s enrolment fell below the required enrolment threshold for that level of staffing, which all the TDs have identified, the mainstream staffing is due to be reduced by one in September. I realise that others have said the number fell-----

By one.

-----by just one. I get that but there has to be a cut-off. There has to be some line so the Department's hands are tied in that regard. As the Deputies know, the school submitted an appeal to the primary staffing appeals board and, unfortunately, that appeal was unsuccessful. The board operates entirely independently of the Department and the rules set out that its decision is final. It is unfortunate for the school to find itself in this situation but, on a more positive note, the Deputies seems to indicate the numbers will be available next year and that the position will return to what it was previously. I am sorry I cannot provide more positive information. I am guided by the Minister in this regard and the information that is available to me.

For the supplementary questions to the Minister of State, each Member has 24 seconds. I remind them that I have no latitude to give additional time. Members all know that. I remind them that if they exceed their time, they will be taking time from one of their constituency colleagues. It is 24 seconds each.

The Chair is emphasising that.

Le bhur dtoil.

Incentivise.

I am going to stick with the same order, so I call Deputy Brabazon.

We have given the school DEIS plus status and the decision to remove one teacher from it is a policy contradiction in itself. It is utterly ridiculous. I have found since I have been elected to this House that the Department of Education and Youth has been relying on circular this, circular that and circular the other. We are constrained and what is missing is common sense and practicality. It has to be reversed.

I ask that this be taken to the Minister. We need a fix. It involves a one-year fix around one student. It will all straighten itself out in a year's time. This area, above all others, needs the level of support we are asking for. We have to give it to the school. The Minister of State should relay this to the Minister. I appreciate the Minister of State's feedback.

I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister, directly after this debate, about this matter. It was fixed in 2020 and can be fixed again, with a bit of common sense. We are all asking the Minister to do it. This school really needs it. It is a brilliant school doing great work with children facing a lot of challenges, and we just need her to go the extra mile and fix things.

At the end of the Minister of State's response, which I realise the Department officials wrote for him, he said the appeal was unsuccessful. Who made it unsuccessful? I would love, with all the Deputies present, to invite the them to Priorswood and Darndale and show them the children and the teachers, who are working as hard as they can. The cost of an extra teacher compares favourably with the foreseen disadvantage that will affect the children's lives. The loss of one pupil should not determine the educational outcome for the entire school.

I am frustrated by the Minister of State's response. St. Francis school was mentioned only in the last two paragraphs that he read. I cannot understand how the Minister can award a school DEIS plus status and then, on the other hand, remove a teacher. This was resolved in 2020, and the five TDs here are asking her to do so again. The Minister of State is going against his own programme for Government. It states the Government wants to reduce class sizes but, given what is happening, classes are going to have to merge into bigger classes.

I thank the Deputies. I understand and get the difficulty but there have to be objective criteria for allocating or reducing the number of teachers. My understanding is that, with the awarding of DEIS plus status, the school got additional resources. I set that out for the Deputies. There was an additional element. I get that it is challenging when there is a reduction of just one. If it were five or seven, it might be more easily comprehended and accepted. I will, of course, bring this matter directly to the attention of the Minister, but my understanding is that her hands are tied on this because, as with anything, there is the law of unintended consequences. Where provision is made for one, the impact on so many others must be thought about. I am not going to put the Minister in a position where she is a hostage to fortune but I will relay the Deputies' comments to her. If an engagement has to take place afterwards or something positive can come out of it, we will happily get back to the Deputies. While I fully understand the sentiments that they expressed and the impact on the school, there has to be an objective criterion for managing fluctuations in pupil-teacher ratios and school numbers. The Deputies are all asking, given that it is obvious that the number enrolled next year will return to the previous level, whether there is an interim solution. On that basis, I will ask the Minister for guidance from the Department. Let us see where we go with that.