€90m saved in pupil/teacher ratios

The salaries of all teachers in fee-paying schools were paid on the same basis as other second-level schools — one for every 18 pupils until September 2009.

Then education minister Batt O’Keeffe, increased it to a 20:1 ratio for fee-paying schools when it only rose to 19:1 for other schools, with disadvantaged schools allowed an 18.25:1 pupil-teacher ratio. Mr Quinn further increased that to a 21:1 pupil-teacher ratio for schools which charge fees in September 2012 and to 23:1 for the current school year, which should cut the contribution he makes to teacher salaries to over €90m a year.

Kilkenny College, one of the biggest colleges in the sector, decided to stop charging fees from this September. Its State support dropped 15% from almost €3.5m to €2.9m between the school year beginning in September 2008 and the last academic year.