Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
76. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education the steps she will take to address the high level of vacant teaching posts at primary and secondary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52820/23]
View answerThe problem of vacant teaching posts has been growing year-on-year under the Minister's watch. The problem is now out of control with 800 vacant teaching posts at primary level and two thirds of secondary schools having unfilled vacancies. Special schools and DEIS schools in the Dublin area are suffering the most due to the housing and cost-of-living crisis. What will the Minister and the Government do about it?
Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that children have qualified and engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a priority. In particular, budget 2024 contains a number of measures that demonstrate my commitment to continued investment in our education system. In addition to numerous actions that have been taken in recent years to address teacher supply, a number of specific and targeted measures will be introduced with the new funding provided. A professional masters of education, PME, incentive scheme is being introduced for newly qualified teachers graduating in 2024. Those newly qualified teachers who graduate with a PME will, subject to some conditions, be eligible for an incentive payment of up to €2,000. Additionally, there will be an expansion in the number of upskilling programmes available. These programmes will increase the number of teachers who are qualified to teach in-demand subjects, including Irish, French, politics and society, and computer science, and will be in addition to the existing programmes in respect of physics, Spanish and maths. Also, an extra 1,000 posts of responsibility are being provided for in the school system for the 2024-25 school year.
These new measures are in addition to other measures, for example, approving 610 additional places on initial teacher education and meeting the primary teacher initial education providers. In 2023, more than 2,700 student teachers have made themselves via registering with the Teaching Council to provide support to our schools.
The operation of primary substitute teacher supply panels will continue in the 2023-24 school year, with 590 teaching posts covering almost 3,000 schools allocated. Retired teachers are being encouraged to provide substitute cover. Interestingly, an increase of more than 49% in teaching days provided by retired teachers has been noted. Restrictions preventing job sharing teachers or teachers on career breaks from working as substitutes have been removed. Ensuring that post-primary teachers can provide up to 35 additional hours of cover has also been enacted. The average student-teacher ratio in primary schools reduced by 10% between 2017 and 2023, the lowest ever seen.
Teaching remains an attractive career. CAO first preference choices for post-primary teaching increased this year by 14%, which is in addition to the 9% increase last year. Many initiatives are being taken to recognise that there are challenges.
Saying there are challenges in some schools or areas is a significant understatement of the problem. The problem is getting worse year on year. Of the 809 vacant primary teaching posts nationwide, 513 are in Dublin. In my constituency, Dublin 24 has 58 vacancies, Dublin 15 has 35 vacancies and Dublin 12 has 33 vacancies. Teachers and principals have written to the Minister warning her that this has reached crisis point and that they are tired and worn out from trying to find teachers for the most disadvantaged and marginalised children. In correspondence to her, they wrote that teachers were moving to schools closer in their homes due to the rising cost of living and young teachers could not find accommodation in Dublin.
There are a number of simple answers to this. Accommodation for key workers like teachers needs to be prioritised. There is the idea of a Dublin allowance to address the cost-of-living crisis. Permanent and decent contracts for teachers could be guaranteed and we could recognise the principle of equal pay for equal work by ensuring that young teachers were no longer on a lower pay scale.
I would never for one minute underestimate the challenges and difficulties in some areas. They are more heightened in some areas than in others. We are a country that is practically at full employment and the challenges we are facing in the education sector are not unique to it. They are evident in healthcare, tourism, retail and many other areas. That said, 70,000 staff are employed by the Department of Education. This is a significant figure, notwithstanding the difficult issues that arise in some instances.
We have introduced a number of initiatives, for example, increasing the number of places on initial primary teacher training by 610, 2,700 student teachers being made available, a €2,000 bursary for those who wish to take up a postgraduate in teaching, 1,000 additional posts of responsibility in the system, and the upskilling of staff free of charge in particular subjects, such as Irish, French, politics and society, computer science, maths, physics and Spanish. We are not standing still. We are intent on doing all that is necessary and happy to keep everything under review in terms of additional measures.
There are very immediate things that can be done. Some of the obstacles to teachers with qualifications from abroad could be removed.
I will provide another example, this one a letter from the deputy principal of St. Aidan’s Senior National School in Brookfield. She wrote:
Our school was granted permission to open a classroom for our pupils with a Mild General Learning Disability a number of years ago. However, like many schools in Dublin, we have been unable to hire enough teachers and so we were unable to open this class this year. We were also unable to hire the full complement of SET teachers that we were allocated, and so, once again, our most vulnerable pupils missed out.
These two positions are considered unfilled temporary contracts. The current policy of the Department of Education dictates that we are prohibited from hiring substitute teachers to cover these positions on a short-term basis.
This is an unnecessary block to the proper education that our most vulnerable pupils need and deserve. There is a teacher who regularly subs in our school who has indicated she would be happy to cover one of these positions for a number of months but she is not able to take on a temporary contract.
A policy of the Department is creating an obstacle and there is a teacher who could take up the role. Could the policy be changed?
The Deputy referenced special education. We have almost 3,000 special classes operational in our system. These are deliberately kept at a low rate of one teacher and two SNAs to every six students. This is a significant measure. In addition, we have the pupil-teacher ratio at an historic low of 23:1 in our primary schools. This means that we have never had as many teachers in the system as we do now, notwithstanding the specific issues the Deputy raised.
We are happy to consider flexibilities. We did so in respect of teachers who trained abroad. If they trained in an appropriate setting, they can now complete their Droichead training – their first year of qualification – in Ireland. We have introduced this flexibility. I am happy to consider the specific case the Deputy raised. I would need further information, though, so he might be happy to share it with me. We are happy to engage with schools on a one-to-one basis where they have particular staff challenges.
