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-----

Sentiment score: 0.24

-----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.

Sentiment score: -0.06

The Chair is emphasising that.

Sentiment score: 0.00

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.

Sentiment score: 0.18

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter regarding the delivery of social and affordable housing in Arklow. I am answering on behalf of our colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Browne, and his Department. Affordability and the chance to own a home remain at the heart of this Government's housing policy, as set out in our new national housing action plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025–2030. At the same time, we remain firmly committed to delivering the social housing needed to support individuals and families who require housing assistance and to building strong, sustainable communities across the country. Under the housing action plan, the Government is targeting the delivery of 300,000 new homes by 2030, including 72,000 social homes. The plan will significantly increase the delivery of new-build social housing to an average of 12,000 homes per year and includes a range of measures to support local authorities in meeting this ambition. These include a streamlined approval process for social housing projects, greater use of standardised designs and modern methods of construction, enhanced land acquisition supports, dedicated housing delivery teams in every local authority and financial incentives to exceed annual social housing delivery targets. Alongside these social housing measures, the plan reinforces and expands the range of affordable housing supports already being delivered, including the new starter homes programme, which aims to provide an average of 15,000 starter home supports annually to 2030. To underpin this ambition, the Government is investing at an unprecedented level through direct Exchequer funding, investment by the Land Development Agency and lending through the Housing Finance Agency. Across the country, the starter purchase scheme, cost-rental scheme, first home scheme, help-to-buy scheme and the vacant property refurbishment grant are helping individuals and families access secure and affordable housing. Last year, more than 17,000 supports were delivered through these measures. In Wicklow, significant progress has already been made. Since 2022, over 1,000 starter home supports have been delivered through a combination of starter purchase, cost rental, the first home scheme and the vacant property refurbishment grant. Wicklow County Council has delivered 91 starter purchase homes to date and has further schemes approved for delivery in the coming years. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has also funded seven dedicated starter homes administrative and technical posts within Wicklow County Council to support delivery. Importantly, Wicklow County Council is also performing strongly in the delivery of social housing. The council has exceeded its social housing targets for the period 2022 to 2025, achieving 125% of its target. The latest social housing construction status report shows a strong pipeline of 512 social homes at various stages of design and procurement, including 166 homes under construction at the end of 2025. This demonstrates a local authority that is actively delivering homes and planning for future need. While Wicklow County Council currently has a programme of housing delivery under way in other parts of the county, no applications have yet been received for starter homes schemes in Arklow. This is clearly a matter that requires continued engagement and focus. The affordable housing fund remains available to Wicklow County Council to support the development of affordable homes where affordability pressures have been identified. The Department of housing, the Housing Agency and the housing delivery co-ordination office continue to work closely with local authorities to develop and advance housing projects that respond to local needs, including in key growth centres such as Arklow. As local authorities prepare new housing delivery action plans under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, there will be a renewed focus on identifying and delivering both social and affordable housing solutions that reflect local needs and priorities. These plans will provide a clear pathway for future delivery and ensure that communities such as Arklow benefit from the full range of housing supports available. This is about more than building houses, as the Deputy knows. It is about building sustainable communities, creating places where people can live, work and raise families, and ensuring that the homes we build today are fit for future generations.

Sentiment score: 0.42

I thank the Deputy. Of course, I know of his significant interest in homes and housing. He has been and continues to be a strong advocate. There is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation from the Department's perspective. It is looking at the overall delivery of social homes and it is on target and on budget. To get into micromanagement is a bit of a challenge for the Department but I will certainly raise the issue with the Minister. The fact that the Deputy is raising the issue is giving vent to his concerns. Engagement with Wicklow County Council is needed. The Deputy was a member of a local authority and knows about that sort of engagement. Perhaps some collective work could be done to include the Minister and the Deputy, working with the councillors and the county manager, the chief executive. Perhaps a meeting could be arranged in Leinster House, and I am happy to facilitate that. The Deputy is well able to manage it but if he needs any assistance from me, I am happy to do that. Sometimes it takes a nudge to spark action. The county-wide approach is doing well, with 125% of its target achieved, but that is cold comfort to someone who is in the Deputy's constituency office and whose son or daughter wants to remain in Arklow, live their life there alongside their parents, siblings or whoever it might be, and is told there is a home in Gorey or wherever else. Up the road does not wash. I am happy to work with the Deputy. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Browne. Perhaps we, collectively, can organise a meeting that involves a representative of the council, either the person involved in housing activation in Wicklow County Council, the director of service or the chief executive, to address this important issue. I thank the Deputy for his advocacy on this and many other issues.

Sentiment score: 0.34