More than 1,600 Wexford Primary School Pupils in Classes of 30 or More

More than 1,600 primary school children in Co. Wexford are being taught in classes of 30 pupils or more, according to figures released in response to a parliamentary question.

The data, obtained by Senator Malcolm Byrne from the Department of Education and Youth, shows that 1,671 pupils across the county were in 52 mainstream classes with 30 or more children during the 2025/26 school year.

According to Senator Byrne's analysis, the largest class sizes in the county were recorded at Rathnure National School and Clochar Mhuire in Rosslare, where both schools had classes of 36 pupils.

Nationally, the Department's figures show there were 39,042 pupils in 1,251 mainstream primary school classes with 30 or more children during the same school year.

Commenting on the figures, Senator Byrne said teachers continue to do an "incredibly dedicated job", but argued that managing classes of more than 30 pupils makes it increasingly difficult to give every child the attention they need.

He said the number of pupils in large classes remains a significant concern, despite what he described as a slight improvement on recent years.

Senator Byrne is calling for a further reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio, saying it is needed to reduce class sizes and improve educational outcomes.

He also highlighted the challenges facing rapidly growing communities, particularly in north Wexford, where increasing numbers of families are relocating to the area.

"We also need to have more regard to rapidly growing schools in communities with increasing populations," he said. "This is particularly true of the north of the county where we see many large class sizes because of families relocating."

The figures were released by the Department of Education and Youth in response to a parliamentary question tabled by Senator Byrne. The Department confirmed that there were 1,251 mainstream primary school classes with 30 or more pupils across the country during the 2025/26 academic year.