I welcome the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, to the House. She has demonstrated how members of the Cabinet should act in respect of Seanad Éireann. She is always available to us for Commencement and other debates, which we appreciate. I invite her to make her opening statement.
Teacher Supply and School Places: Statements
I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the Seanad on the issues of teacher supply and places in post-primary schools. Both topics are equally and extremely important. The delivery of high-quality teaching and learning is a key priority for the Department of Education and for all who work in the education sector. Equally important is that children and their families can expect to have access to a school place. This takes significant work and co-operation on the part of many people in the education system, including, most importantly, those working in schools every day. They include our school leaders and school staff, amply and ably supported by boards of management and parents.
I will take this opportunity to outline some of the key ongoing initiatives and work in the areas of teacher supply and the provision of places at post-primary level. Teaching remains an attractive career choice for our young people, as evidenced by the significant number who elect to pursue teacher training at undergraduate and graduate level. The number of newly qualified teachers registering annually with the Teaching Council has increased in recent years. More than 3,700 newly qualified teachers registered in 2022 and the total number of teachers on the council's register is more than 118,000. Despite this, it is acknowledged that challenges exist for some schools in sourcing teachers. The Department of Education has a comprehensive programme of work to support teacher supply and, in addition, a range of new short-term measures are being progressed.
I have met a number of teacher education providers to discuss possible flexibilities in their programme delivery to support the availability of student teachers to fill substitute positions. I am pleased that the higher education institutions have responded very positively to my request. I want to place on record my appreciation for their helpful co-operation, which provides for a greater flexibility and availability of student teachers in schools. The Department's teacher support services have deferred some planned continuing professional development, CPD, training for the period to the end of March, thus reducing the need for substitution and providing additional personnel to support schools. In the current school year, the Department has put in place a scheme that allows post-primary teachers to teach additional hours in their subject area. The maximum number of additional hours per term a teacher may teach has been increased this year from 20 hours to 35 hours.
A communications campaign has been launched to encourage retired teachers to take up short-term substitute positions. Retired teachers may teach for up to 50 days in each of the calendar years 2021 to 2023 without reducing their pension. In 2022, almost 870 retired primary teachers and more than 220 retired post-primary teachers provided substitute cover in schools, representing a significant increase over 2021.
My Department provided details of the allocated teaching resources for the 2023-24 school year to post-primary schools on 26 January and to primary schools on 31 January. This will allow schools to commence recruitment for the coming school year much earlier than was the case last year. The Teaching Council, on a time-bound basis, will now accept applications from primary and post-primary teachers who have qualified outside of Ireland but have not completed the statutory period of induction in the country in which they qualified. This will enable them to complete induction, known as Droichead, in Ireland. This is in accordance with the Teaching Council (Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. The application process for these teachers will open on 22 February 2023 and remain open until 1 February 2024. The Teaching Council is also reviewing its registration application process for teachers who qualify overseas to enhance efficiencies.
A number of other measures are already in place for the current school year. There is provision for the allocation of additional posts to substitute primary teacher supply panels. For the 2022-23 school year, there are 151 supply panels nationally, with an allocation of 610 posts covering 2,847 schools. On a temporary basis for the current school year, job-sharing teachers may be employed to work as substitutes during the period they are rostered off duty. The limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career break have been suspended. Third- and fourth-year undergraduate student teachers can now register with the Teaching Council. We are seeing the full impact of this measure in this school year. So far, more than 2,500 student teachers have registered. This initiative supports the employment of student teachers to cover substitutable vacancies.
Following from the Department's action plan on teacher supply, the Irish Primary Principals Network, IPPN, has developed a portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions.
The portal will facilitate the matching of demand and supply and provide an efficient and user-friendly recruitment process for all schools and teachers. I understand this facility will be available shortly and I strongly recommend and urge all schools to avail of the service for recruitment for the 2023-24 school year.
Free programmes are available for post-primary teachers to upskill in particular subjects in which teacher supply has proved challenging, including mathematics, Spanish and physics. These programmes commenced in January 2021 and approximately 170 places were provided in the first intake, with an increase to more than 340 places this year. It is also intended to introduce a new course for teachers to upskill in Irish in the coming school year. In addition, higher education institutes have developed four-year initial teacher education undergraduate programmes in a number of post-primary priority subjects, including Irish, mathematics, computer science, modern foreign languages and home economics. These new programmes mean more post-primary teachers can qualify in four years instead of six and at a lower cost.
The various measures to support teacher supply are underpinned by the Teaching Transforms campaign, which promotes the teaching profession and encourages students to follow a career in teaching. While the positive impact of these actions is important, work will continue to address teacher supply challenges, particularly to ensure the availability of sufficient numbers of substitute teachers. My Department continues to work intensively with all stakeholders and partners in education to develop and implement creative solutions to address the teacher supply challenges for schools.
I will deal now with school places. To plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data from the Department of Social Protection and my Department's school enrolment databases, is analysed to identify where the pressure for school places throughout the country will arise. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements.
Where data indicate additional provision is required at primary or post-primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case. This is done through either one or a combination of methods, namely, utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools, extending the capacity of a school or schools, and provision of a new school or schools. My Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects. This was achieved again in 2022, notwithstanding the wider construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues. Key achievements by the Department in 2022 include the delivery of approximately 180 school building projects during 2022, with a further 273 projects continuing in construction at the start of 2023, most of which will be completed this year. There is accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to facilitate additional capacity in special classes and special schools to cater for more than 900 children with additional needs. Another achievement is supporting the enrolment of more than 13,500 children from Ukraine in our primary and post-primary schools.
My Department is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2023. Key priorities include continuing strong delivery to support the operation of the school system, with particular regard to planning ahead for the 2023-24 school year and beyond. In this regard, I am very conscious of the need to continue to establish more special classes at both primary and post-primary level and to increase capacity in special schools. We will also need to continue the great work done in 2022 in supporting and facilitating the enrolment of children from Ukraine and other countries under the international protection system. I acknowledge and salute what our school communities throughout the country have achieved in supporting these young people and helping them to settle into school life.
I am also appreciative of the strong support provided by the Government for the education budget. As part of the supplementary budget, €300 million in additional capital funding was provided in 2022. This reflected the strong delivery by my Department of school building projects to support both mainstream and special education needs provision. As part of its planning ahead for 2023, the Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in regard to capital funding pressures.
Notwithstanding these efforts, my Department is aware of increasing enrolment pressures in some areas. It is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, they may not necessarily be a result of lack of accommodation. There are other factors that may be driving pressure on enrolments. One of these is duplication of applications, whereby pupils have applied for a place in a number of schools in an area. Another factor is the desire for a place in a school of choice. Pupils sometimes cannot get a place in their preferred school if there are places available in other schools in their town or area. In addition, some towns or areas have single-sex schools, which means that even if places are available in the school, they are not available to all pupils. There is also the external draw factor, which leads to pupils coming to a school from outside the local area.
The Department of Education works to establish the true extent of any capacity issues across school planning areas through ongoing discussions with the relevant school patrons and authorities. That work is ongoing in respect of enrolment pressures in many areas for the 2023-24 school year. This close engagement will allow my Department to identify particular capacity requirements for September 2023 and forthcoming years that may necessitate further action to what is already in train, including, where required, the provision of modular accommodation solutions. I assure the House that the Department is committed to ensuring the provision of the necessary school places to meet the needs of all children and is working to identify and deliver the required solutions in collaboration with schools and patrons.
I welcome the Minister. I attest to the Cathaoirleach's words about how supportive she is of the Seanad and how readily available she is to come to the Chamber to speak to us on pertinent education issues. She always begins her contributions by thanking teachers and school communities for the incredible work they do. That is important and much appreciated. Our teaching community is exemplary in the work its members do in providing supports to all the children within their care.
I will refer to teacher numbers briefly before moving on to school places, which is the issue about which I am more concerned. The Minister will be aware of that from discussions we have had both in the Chamber and privately. I appreciate what she outlined regarding the new measures coming into place to increase teacher numbers. She indicated that teachers coming from outside Ireland will be able to register to teach here. That is a game changer and will be very important. Another game changer is that third and fourth year student teachers can now register to teach, which more than 2,100 of them have done. Those young people will be able to learn and earn at the same time.
We are very much moving in the right direction on teacher numbers. It is important to acknowledge that average class sizes at primary level have fallen to 22.8. As we know from all the research, children learn and socialise better when there is a smaller pupil-teacher ratio within the classroom. We are conscious of the impact on some schools that are currently experiencing recruitment challenges. I know that ensuring there are enough teachers available is a priority for the Minister. This is important because we want to ensure every child's experience in school is positive, which requires that pupils have qualified, engaged and supportive teachers.
As I said, the availability of school places is an issue of particular concern for me, as it is for the wider community in south Kildare, especially around the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. We have experienced significant school place pressures in recent years. As Newbridge and Kildare town continue to grow and prosper, there is an unequal amount of development. I am conscious of the pressure this brings on school places but the onus to address that should not just be on the Minister, as I always say. There also is an onus on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the local authorities, which in this case is Kildare County Council. We must build sustainable communities whereby when planning permission is given for housing, there is also adequate provision for school places. We need to be able to work at pace in this regard. There must also be adequate provision of leisure amenities, access to GP services and access to sustainable transport modes.
I have been raising the red flag within the Oireachtas for the last seven years regarding Newbridge and Kildare. The rate of growth of housing is far outpacing all of our infrastructural advances and our resources are maxed out. Our towns are continuing to grow, which is a welcome boost for our local economies. However, at the same time, we are seeing congestion and parents completely stressed by not being able to get school places. I know that measures have been put in place in relation to the new school in Magee Barracks and of the possibility of new places at the Curragh. However, we need to see a more streamlined and co-ordinated approach as to how we allocate school places. The Minister mentioned the fact that many parents apply to more than one school and, in many cases, accept more than one place. This makes it really difficult for other parents who are waiting. I was in France recently through a Council of Europe project and I spoke to the minister for education there. In France, there is no choice regarding schools. Children are allocated a school so they do not have this situation. I am not necessarily suggesting we do that here but it certainly gives us food for thought.
The duplication that exists is a key issue. I regularly speak to desperate parents who have children on lists. They may be 50 on one list, 70 on another one and 80 on another one. I know a pilot scheme has been put in place for Newbridge and Kildare, with an independent person in the Department looking at the differences. I am really interested in hearing where that is at. More could be done regarding long-term population-demand analysis between the local authorities and the Department of Education.
On special needs, we are inundated with demand from Rathangan, Newbridge and Milltown. In my role as spokesperson for education, I regularly have contact from councillors around the country and I understand from them that this situation does not just apply to Newbridge and Kildare. Councillor Stephen McKee has been in regular contact about the need for a secondary school in Duleek, Councillor Shane Moynihan has been in contact about secondary school places in Lucan and Clondalkin, Councillor Catherine Fitzgerald has been in contact about Portlaoise and Councillor Frank O'Flynn has been in contact about Fermoy.
The Senator is on the quota for votes but she is over the quota for time.
I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to say that these areas are hugely important to the people they represent.
I will have to become more strict on time.
I welcome the Minister to the House. I ask her to make her statement available to us. We did not get copies and that puts us at a slight disadvantage. We listened to the statement and it was all very positive. I thank the Minister for her overview in relation to education.
I jotted down a few things as I listened to the Minister and she might take a note of them and come back to them at some point in the future.me on them. Some years ago, the Department of Education acquired at a very high price, a major site at the top of Newtownpark Avenue, Blackrock, County Dublin, and I would have been told this by a former Minister, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, who represented the Dún Laoghaire constituency. It is on the same avenue as one of the biggest comprehensive schools, Newpark Comprehensive School. That was a rather odd strategic purchase but it was done. I ask the Minister to come back to me when time permits and she has more information on where all that is at. It has been purchased and paid for. It is registered with the Department and clearly there is going to be a plan for it. That is important.
This leads on to my next point. Many people in Dún Laoghaire have raised the issue that they are still, in Februrary, not sure of a secondary school place for their children. It is very worrying for the parents. They are anxious that their children should go to the school that their friends from primary school go to. It is a difficult time for teenagers, particularly if the school is far away, and it is a time of transition. It can be difficult for people who have long-established contacts within that community. They cling to the connection their son or daughter made with the children in primary school they became friends with in fifth class and sixth class. That is important because we live in a community.
I am a great believer in State education. I have always believed that where choice is possible, people should be able to opt to educate their children in their own communities. The best place to be educated is a school closest to one's home in one's own community where lifelong friendships can be built. I still have friends I met in school.
The issue of duplication of applications is clearly a major concern. Parents come to me to say they have no place. I tell them to come back to me with three letters of refusal from schools and that I will then to try to make representations for them. Initially they say they have been refused but when they are asked to produce a letter from a school it appears to be a different story. Sometimes it is that the parents are not getting the school they want. I believe in choices in education. It is really important that we recognise all forms of education and ethoses and religious and non-religious and denomination and non-denomination schools. We should have those choices. We are big enough and tolerant enough in a republic that we can facilitate a broad spectrum of education.
The time has come to have a policy on the issue of duplication of applications in schools. It is not good enough for parents to put their children down for a load of schools with everyone clogging up the system. I say that if people hang on long enough there might be a change. That is unsatisfactory. We need to have a system that is open and transparent. Permitting multiple applications is clearly clogging up the system and does not give us an accurate barometer of what may become available later in the year.
The Minister might give some guidance on the refusal of places when she can do so, so that if a parent contacts our offices and tells us their child has been refused, we can tell them what the next step is. We get representations about this as public representatives. Where do we go? Of course, the State will guarantee people education but might not be at their door. We need some clear guidance and it would be helpful for the Minister and for us as public representatives to know the process when a parent says that it is now Easter but their child has no offer of a secondary school place in September or has been refused.
There is a real need for the expansion of our child psychological services. There is a need for support for children in primary and secondary school. The school is best placed, in many cases, to observe the behaviour of children in the playground or in the classroom. If challenges present themselves at an early age, early intervention can yield good results. We very much see the world from where we have come and our experiences in it. There is real need for an expanded or shared psychological service in clusters, particularly in rural parts of Ireland, where the same connections as in cities do not exist. There is a real need for this. One can see the benefit of early intervention in issues of this nature.
I refer to something very dear to my heart. The Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, put in place the first trial with the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. It has a visiting school for blind children. These are children who have no eye sockets in their heads. It is really sad. There is no special school for them. There an outreach teacher who drives around Cork. It has been a Cork-based, or a Munster-based, pilot scheme for the last 15 years. How does the State support people who are blind or visually impaired or have other disabilities? The parents cannot even send their children to a centre. It is home visiting and home schooling. I ask the Minister to look at the Cork pilot scheme, which the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind was commissioned to work on, and see how we can progress it.
I thank the teachers in our schools for taking on the challenge of supporting the Ukrainian community. It is vital that their culture and language is respected.
I thank the Minister for coming in to speak with us again. Unfortunately, I do not have a printed copy of the statement.
The Minister referred to teacher supply, the availability of student places and the options retired teachers have to return to teaching. The Minister highlighted that there is a portal for primary schools, which sounds very welcome and can be used for recruitment across the country. The Minister also said there are around 314 school planning areas and that school enrolment and child benefit data is used to try to plan ahead in terms of where pressures will arise. It is to be hoped that the census will also give us data on that. Does that data include families who have arrived in the past year or two?
Students in teacher training colleges are supporting schools with substitution work. That is through the request of the Minister. Teacher training colleges have acquiesced and are now supporting the Minister in this, which is important. The Minister mentioned the importance of increasing the number of teacher training places in September. I understand that there is an agreement with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and his Department to increase the number of places. Is there funding for that? Does the funding come from the Departments of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science? How will we ensure that the places are planned for September?
The Minister made reference to the possibility of teachers from abroad coming to Ireland to teach. That is another measure that is being considered in terms of trying to meet the need here. Does the Minister have any comments on that measure? Many of our teachers have travelled abroad in the past year, in particular when there were lockdowns and people could not travel for two years.
The Minister highlighted the census numbers. The census shows that there is a bump in the numbers moving from primary to secondary school. There are also new school builds. The Minister highlighted that 180 school building projects are proceeding this year. It is crucial that the Department of Education is also examining the additional accommodation side. Many primary schools and secondary schools in urban areas are at capacity. That is not the case with rural schools. There are challenges for families coming to Ireland in terms of trying to meet their needs.
Modular buildings are important, and we need to be able to facilitate their use. The buildings are fantastic quality. I have seen them in St. Teresa's Special School in Ballinasloe, which the Minister visited. What can we do in the context of temporary measures for schools that are under huge pressure?
The Minister spoke about the capital infrastructure part. The other part I would like to speak to includes Scoil an Croí Naofa. The Minister will be delighted to hear that the school developed its first student council and students from fourth, fifth and sixth class were here today representing the school. We need a school. That is one thing that is on my mind. The project is going through a statutory planning process at the moment.
The other areas I wish to mention in respect of modular builds and additional accommodation are the measures being put in place around costing and finance between the Departments of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and Education on the level of funding required for September in order to increase the number of places. How long does the Minister expect the teaching colleges involved to maintain this with their students? Is there a plan? Will this continue until Easter or is there a plan to maintain the agreement after Easter until the summer?
The census numbers reflect an increase in the number of children with special educational needs. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, stated more than 600 new special classes would be provided for in the budget by the Department of Education, sanctioned at primary school level. I understand five new special schools were established over the past three years. Those numbers are incredible, but the classes will need to be maintained over the next three years.
There are issues at post-primary level. One in every four schools is a DEIS school. The majority of DEIS schools are probably primary schools. How will we manage support for children at post-primary level? There has been a report from the INTO on burnout among primary school teachers. What mechanisms are in place to manage the administrative workload? Are there any innovative ideas around supports for the administrative element in order to ease teachers' workloads? I am sure all of this is being looked at by the Teaching Council.
A key area for me is the final review from the steering committee on school transport. I would very much appreciate it if the Minister could comment on that. She has responded on a number of occasions regarding timelines. Any information she can provide for children who are applying for tickets would be very much appreciated. This is absolutely crucial because parents are trying to plan. We saw what happened last year and want to work hard with Bus Éireann to avoid the same happening again.
I ask the Minister to comment on the NCCA audit on the new SPHE curriculum, which is happening in September. The key issue for me is active consent. We know programmes are being rolled out in the University of Galway at the moment, and it is crucial that the same happens in our primary and secondary schools.
I welcome the Minister. The shortfall in teacher supply has reached a crunch point at both primary and post-primary level. Too many teachers are on insecure or temporary contracts and are underemployed. These temporary contracts mean they are not paid over the summer and must take their chances on getting a permanent position or another temporary contract in September.
The issue of contracts is only part of the problem. The cost of living crisis means many teachers, in particular lower paid younger teachers, cannot afford the cost of rent in many areas. They have even less prospect of being able to secure and manage a mortgage. One very simple thing the Department can do to address the shortage of teachers is to release more positions. This will allow teachers who work on a part-time basis to work full-time and teachers who are not on permanent contracts to be given one.
I urge the Minister to consider all of the teachers who work abroad, including in Britain and the Middle East, many of whom have spoken about their wish to return home but the seemingly arbitrary barriers they face prevent them from doing so. In particular, they have spoken of the requirement for teachers who have trained in Britain to complete their induction in Britain. This requirement was waived during the Covid-19 pandemic and I call on the Department to consider doing something similar in the current crisis.
Teachers have also spoken of the uncertainty they face on returning home. The current cut-off for permanent contracts in October and November means that many teachers who return home outside of these dates must take up temporary contracts, with no guarantee of a permanent position and no summer pay. I call on the Government to remove the October and November cut-offs permanently in order that teachers returning to Ireland can get full-time contracts and some security to keep them here.
The impact of these measures on teacher numbers would, in our view, be immeasurable. However, we must not address just the immediate shortage but also the underlying issues that have led to it. I ask the Minister to listen to the INTO's proposals for an emergency task force to examine the matter and determine what steps can be taken.
Unfortunately, the crisis in our education system has now reached the point where parents the country over are worried about their children not having a place in secondary school. A number of students in Limerick received no offer of a second level school place. These issues were foreseeable. The Department has known for years that a surge in population meant more school places would be needed. We know how many children are in post primary, in particular, the there is no excuse for this situation which should have been anticipated and prevented. The Department and Minister had access to the data, budget and power to intervene and resolve this before researched this point.
There are almost 1 million children in our 4,000 schools. There is easily enough capacity to accommodate all children, provided we plan early. We need urgent action to ensure these school places are secured as soon as possible so that families, children and teachers get as much clarity as possible without further delay, but to achieve that we need early forecasting.
I have a couple of questions. If all of our schools were mixed, we might not face problems with places. This issue also inflates gender stereotypes.
There is also an issue that 25% of our school places are reserved for children and grandchildren of past pupils, which is outrageous. It is highly unusual that we separate boys and girls. We are an outlier around the world on that issue and it should end as soon as possible.
I will leave it there. I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I may not be able to stay if there are more speakers and I apologise for that.
Senator Hoey and I are sharing time, if that is okay.
It that agreed? Agreed.
I thank the Minister for coming in tonight. I want to start by putting on record our thanks to the many teachers we have in the country who go above and beyond their duties every day of the week. It is always important, as colleagues said, that we start with that and thank them for the great job they do for so many of our students throughout the country in primary, post-primary and third level education.
In December last, I tabled a Commencement matter on school places in Kildare South with the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, as unfortunately the Minister was not available that particular day. That is also what I would like to concentrate my contribution on. The Minister will be familiar with this, as we have had a number of conversations over the past number of years on the continuing problems in Kildare South and it was referenced already by colleagues from that part of the country.
We are in a situation now where the biggest problem is September 2023. I want to put on record, once again, as I did on that Commencement matter, my thanks to the Government for the building programme it is putting in place. We have a 1,000-student new secondary school going into the Magee Barracks in Kildare town. I was told, and the Minister might confirm, that as of three weeks ago, there will be some 425 places available in September 2024 in temporary accommodation. It would be important to hear from the Minister on that tonight or she could come back to us with details at a later stage. It is important for parents to plan. If those places are available in Kildare town in 2024, that will relieve the anxieties of many parents in the Newbridge and Kildare areas.
However, it leaves us with the problem in 2023. Over the past number of weeks, I continue to get representations, as I am sure colleagues do, throughout Kildare from worried parents. One parent even told me that their child has contemplated suicide. I do not say that lightly. That is what the parent said. The reason that is happening is because their friends and fellow students have a place, yet they are still, as was said already, 50th, 60th or 70th on a list in various secondary schools in the Newbridge and Kildare area. It is simply not good enough. The worry those parents and, more importantly, those children have is simply not good enough.
In the reply that I received from the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, in December on the Commencement matter, he stated there was work ongoing in the Department in relation to Kildare South. It was referenced tonight. I would appreciate if the Minister could confirm what that work is. We need to get that out to those people and families that have that concern and are still number 50 on the list. Only yesterday, a woman who has twins who still do not have a school place was on to me about school places in Kildare South.
I acknowledge the work the Department did last year. The Ceann Comhairle organised a meeting and that seemed to work. However, this year we have a problem for September 2023. I acknowledge the Minister’s ongoing commitment to that. I ask her to please let us know what her Department is doing on those school places. So many people have a worry.
I thank the Minister, herself a teacher, for coming in. I agree with my colleague, Senator Wall, on our eternal gratitude to our teachers, educators, tutors, assistants and the variety of people who have kept and keep our school systems going, particularly over the past couple of years.
I want to briefly touch on a couple of areas. I was scrolling through my inbox to see what kind of communication I get because I thought that might be somewhat useful to portray in here. As I am sure the Minister knows, home economics is a topic that has come up regarding the training of home economics teachers. When speaking to a couple of pals I know who went to St. Angela’s and studied home economics, they told me that half of them get snapped up by the food science industry. This is anecdotal and I do not have an exact figure. It struck me that I had not thought of home economics graduates being head-hunted for food science programmes but, of course, it makes it sense. We only have a certain number of training places in that particular subject. It is not taught the same way through, for example, the arts and going into teaching elsewhere. Home economics is a vital subject. There have been proposals from student groups on how to train home economics teachers, whether there are postgraduate opportunities for people who already teachers and stuff like that. I thought it would be useful to raise that.
The other issue, which I think we all know about, is the two-tier pay system. It is an eternal cause of consternation and annoyance. I do not need to regale the Minister with the impact that has on staff morale and all of that. I spoke to teachers who are on the older and arguably better-paid system. The fact that they are working with colleagues who they know will never reach pay parity possibly with them has an impact on them. I hope it is not true they will never reach pay parity. Even from the other side, it has an impact on those teachers.
Finally, I refer to teacher shortages. We have spoken to teachers and management in schools in Dublin city. They have staff coming from Meath, Louth and Kildare, travelling long distances in order to teach in the city because they cannot afford to live there. It is having an impact on them and they must consider the reality and challenges of being able to keep those teachers in those schools. The cost-of-living crisis and the impact that is having on the teacher shortage, particularly in Dublin city centre, is slightly outside the Minister’s Department, but it is within her Cabinet colleagues’ remit.
My departmental colleague will take over from now. We will revert on the points the Senators’ raised.
The Minister might ask the Department to circulate a copy of the speech.
Yes. I am very sorry about this.
That is fine, I thank the Minister again for being here this evening.
Senators Keogan and Craughwell will be sharing time. Is that agreed? Agreed.
I was going to go parochial, so I am disappointed the Minister left. However, it is great to have the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, here, because he knows exactly what I am talking about.
I wish to raise the issue of the boys and girls primary school in Duleek. It has had ongoing issues with rectification works since 2015. It is a state-of-the-art, brand new school. The retention money was paid to the contractors before a satisfaction note was signed off by the board of management, which is absolutely crazy. We are now in 2023 and those matters have not been resolved. I believe they applied for planning permission today for the extension. Hopefully, as part of the extension works, those retention works will be completed this year. It is not good enough that our standards are not being met when we are building state-of-the-art schools and shoddy work is being done by contractors around the country.
I wish to raise another issue as well in relation to Stamullen and Stadalt House. We have 25 children there since September who have been unable to access school transport to a primary school in Ardcath. The local schools are full and could not take the Ukrainian children. I have been shouting at every Department to try to get those school children a bus since November. Every single week I am sending an email to the school transport section. It seems ridiculous. Communities are embracing our Ukrainian children and Ukrainian families. It is important that we have the services to meet their needs. If the Minister of State can do anything, I would appreciate that.
The Minister of State knows we have a 23-acre site for a secondary school in Duleek. There is nothing stopping the Department doing a scoping exercise there for the delivery of a secondary school on that site. The church has said it is willing to hand over that site to the Department to build the schoo. It has access to both roads – Station Road and the business park road. There is no reason we cannot deliver a secondary school there. All the schools in Drogheda are already full. The Educate Together in Grange Rath is full, as well as the secondary school in Laytown.
There is a need for secondary schools that take in the areas of Donore, Knockcommon, Rathfeigh, Kentstown, Skreen, Ardcath and Cushinstown. The Minister of State will know the feeder schools. I would like him to put this matter on his agenda when he leaves the Chamber. He is the Minister of State and represents that area. Please bring us a secondary school. I guarantee him every single person in Duleek will vote for him if he delivers that school.
I thank Senator Keogan for sharing her time. As the Minister of State knows, when I was first elected to the Seanad, he and I stood in this House side by side. I congratulate him on his appointment; it is the first time I have met him in his official capacity.
We destroyed education when we changed the contract for teachers at secondary and further education levels by substituting hours for jobs. We fought long and hard to change that. Young teachers looked for this famous contract of indefinite duration. Some of them got these contracts for 11 hours a week. When I started teaching in 1995, we got full contracts and had good jobs. Living and working in urban areas, such as Dublin, Galway and Cork, is now becoming prohibitively expensive for teachers. Like it or lump it, we will have to look at some sort of an allowance for teachers who are living in these areas because as my colleague, Senator Hoey, said, they simply cannot afford to live in Dublin. When I was based in Blackrock, County Dublin, teachers were driving from Mullingar at 5 a.m. and sleeping in their cars for a couple of hours before teaching for the day. It is not good for them or for the quality of education. We must have a complete rethink. If he can, the Minister of State might sit down with departmental officials on this issue. This is all stuff he and the Minister have inherited. It is nothing to do with them but it is there and has to be addressed. Teaching is not a job for young people any more. Their future in it is miserable. Retention is now a problem. People are coming in to teaching and getting out of it as quickly as they can.
I will address the issue of school numbers. It is funny; I looked at what is happening in Limerick. I lived in Limerick and around 1989 we had problems getting places for children. There were not enough secondary school places. I am shocked to hear that the same situation exists today. There is some mitigation on the Department's side because numbers are racing forward due to the number of young children who have come to the country as migrants. There is very little we can do about that. However, access to school places in Limerick has been a problem for as long as I can remember. I will leave it at that. The Cathaoirleach has been very generous in allowing Senator Keogan and me to share time. I again thank the Minister of State for his time.
Tá áthas orm an deis seo a bheith agam chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don Aire Oideachais, an Teachta Ní Fhoghlú, ar na hábhair thábhachtacha seo maidir le soláthar múinteoirí agus áiteanna i scoileanna dara leibhéal.
In addition to these measures, the Department will continue to plan for the longer-term provision of teachers to meet demand. A new programme to upskill teachers in Irish is expected to commence next term and the Department is actively considering the introduction of additional upskilling programmes in targeted subjects. There are also more options for students to qualify as post-primary teachers through a number of new four-year undergraduate programmes that have been developed by HEIs in recent years.
Addressing the challenges of teacher demand and supply requires the contribution and co-operation of a broad range of education partners. There have been regular engagements between the Department, management bodies and teacher unions in recent months on teacher supply at which potential measures are constructively considered. For example, in recent weeks, the Department has met on a number of occasions with the post-primary school management bodies to explore options for the sharing of teachers between two schools, including the potential for students to access classes through e-learning. The Minister has also met recently with the HEIs, which led to creative solutions to enhance the availability of student teachers to support schools. The Department will continue to work closely and intensively in this fashion with stakeholders to develop and implement solutions to address teacher supply challenges.
The subject of school places has been dear to my heart for a number of years because the most recent census indicated my constituency is the largest growing in population terms. I am well aware of these issues and have constantly engaged with the Department on some of the issues Senator Keogan raised. The Department plans for school provision using data from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data, census statistics and information on planned and current residential development activity. Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets also inform the Department's forecast of school place needs.
Existing capacity at schools in an area is first considered. Where there is not sufficient capacity, the Department will look to make the necessary provision by extending the capacity of existing schools or by the provision of a new school, as appropriate. The Department has a strong delivery record and this was reflected in the approximately 180 school building projects delivered in 2022. There are additionally approximately 300 school building projects at construction currently, and a pipeline of around 1,000 further projects at various stages of planning and design. The Department is currently considering its work programme and priorities for 2023. A key priority is the planning for necessary accommodation provision for 2023-24 and beyond. This includes required accommodation to make the necessary provision for children with special educational needs. I am glad to see significant progress being made in that area under the Minister and this Government.
Informing the planning for 2023-24 and future years is the Department's ongoing engagement with school authorities and patrons regarding enrolment pressures in certain areas. It is important to note that enrolment pressures in an area can be driven by duplicate applications drawn from outside the local area and school-of-choice dynamics. In order to identify the actual school place requirements, the Department liaises with school authorities and patrons, which facilitates the identification of any required solutions. This work is ongoing with schools in various parts of the country. The Department is working to ensure that required solutions can be put in place in a timely manner. Public representatives should never be afraid to raise issues in their local areas with departmental officials or the Minister, if there is any particular pressure. I have done so in the past and found it to be very effective. Sometimes, the reality on the ground is different to information the calculations provide. Notwithstanding that, it is fair to say the Department has done a very good job in recent years. The Department is conscious of the impact on children and families of uncertainty and is working with schools and patrons to provide more certainty. The Department is also cognisant of the importance of schools having clarity in a timely manner in order that they can plan for the start of the school year. The Department is committed to ensuring the required school places are in place for next year.
On Limerick, the Department is in close engagement with patrons and school authorities in the relevant pressure areas, with a view to establishing the true extent of any capacity issues and to put required solutions in place to facilitate provision of the requisite school places. The Department is aware that 26 students have not received an offer in Limerick for 2023. The Department has been in close engagement with Limerick Education Centre and school patrons and was aware of the evolving situation with regard to school places in Limerick for 2023. Schools in Limerick have already increased their available places by more than 100, including 44 additional places made available in recent weeks. It is expected that some students who have been offered places will instead accept places in other non-city schools. This could free up places that will meet the needs of some or all of the students without a place. Every child needs a place.
The Department has been very clear about that and it has to happen. The Department will continue to work with school patrons to put a contingency solution in place to ensure that there are sufficient places available in the city. The Department has identified a school which will be in a position to accommodate an additional first year class intake with the support of the Department, if that is needed. There will be further clarity on this in the coming weeks. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so that every child will be accommodated. That is an absolute guarantee that every child will be accommodated and we will certainly work towards that.
There are a couple of other issues. While I appreciate what Senator Craughwell said, I reject this thing that education has been destroyed in Ireland. There definitely have been problems and issues but we actually have one of the best education systems in the world and I think we should celebrate that and thank our teachers and parents and everyone who has created that is a fact and all of the research shows that.
It is not the education-----
Let the Minister of State reply.
It is the teaching profession.
The teaching profession has done fantastic work and we are committed to supporting them as well. On the local issues raised by Senator Keogan, obviously I am aware of them all and I am in touch with Department officials in relation to them and will keep her informed on them. They are obviously dear to her heart and dear to my heart. On the position of Duleek secondary school, as Members will know I have campaigned for that in the past. A decision was taken otherwise and it is certainly something I think is needed and I agree with her on that. On the primary school issue, that is an ongoing saga involving the National Development Finance Agency, not just the schools, and I am in contact with them and will let her know the position on that.
As a teacher myself of 16 years, I thank the Members of the House for their participation in the debate and thank all of those involved in our education system. We have a very fine education system and we may have challenges but I hope we can all unite to ensure the children we all work to serve and support are given that equipment in terms of schools and teachers. I thank the Minister of State for being here.
I propose a suspension until 6.30 p.m.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 6.02 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 6.35 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 6.02 p.m. and resumed at 6.35 p.m.