Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
67. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the actions she is taking to alleviate the teacher supply shortage across Irish education in light of a recent survey (details supplied). [52296/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI join Deputy Clarke and the Minister in sending our solidarity to the school community of Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square. The Minister spoke about the incident last week and I appreciate her efforts. It is a heartbreaking situation. I know the school is traumatised and it will be for quite a period of time. There can be healing and there are no better people to help to heal than teachers and SNAs in a school community that loves its children so much.
My question is on the efforts of the Minister in the area of teacher supply.
I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I acknowledge his personal engagement with me, and the engagement from throughout the House, on the incident on Parnell Square.
Ensuring every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them is a priority. Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate commitment to continued investment in the education system. A professional masters of education incentive scheme, which I referenced earlier, is being introduced as a consequence of budget 2024. Newly qualified teachers who graduate with a PME will, subject to conditions, be eligible for an incentive payment of up to €2,000. This incentive payment will be paid to eligible primary and post-primary teachers in 2025.
Additionally, there will be an expansion in the number of upskilling programmes available. These programmes, which are free to teachers, increase the number of teachers who are qualified to teach in-demand subjects. These new upskilling programmes in Irish, French, politics and society, and computer science will be in addition to existing upskilling programmes in maths, physics and Spanish. An additional 1,000 posts of responsibility are being provided in the school system. This is in recognition that school leaders play a key role in improving educational outcomes by creating a positive school climate and environment as well as motivating and empowering educators and learners within their school communities.
These new measures are in addition to a range of targeted measures introduced in recent times, including, as I mentioned earlier, approving 610 additional places on initial teacher education primary level programmes for 2023-24 and ensuring initial teacher education providers created existing flexibilities that enable student teachers to support schools, either while on placement, or in a substitute capacity. It is worthy of note that in 2023, more than 2,700 student teachers registered with the Teaching Council and provided valuable support to schools as substitute teachers.
We will continue the operation of primary substitute teacher supply panels in 2023-24, with 590 teaching posts allocated to 166 panels covering nearly 3,000 schools. We are encouraging retired teachers to provide substitute cover. A communications campaign was run and it is interesting to note that the number of days covered by retired teachers during this past year increased by 49%. Restrictions on job-sharing teachers and those on a career break from working as substitutes have been lifted.
I do not think many people in the education sector, especially the primary sector, get the sense that the Minister appreciates the scale of the crisis. The INTO, the IPPN and the Catholic Primary School Management Association had a joint survey of primary schools which, as the Minister knows, was published a number of weeks ago. It stated there are 800 vacancies in the primary school system. I visited a school in west Dublin that is operating at 45% capacity. This issue is particularly acute in Dublin. We have to come to the conclusion that much more drastic measures are required. Has the Minister given serious consideration to a Dublin allowance, similar to what has been available in London for the past 100 years? When there was an issue in London with the cost of living and public servants not being able to live and work in London, they found an answer and it worked. Is it time to consider a Dublin allowance for Dublin teachers?
I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I want to be very clear that I do not underestimate the extraordinary challenges, in particular areas, and it is in particular areas, for school leadership to fill posts. There is no doubt about this. We are a country at near full employment. The issues we face in education are reflected in so many other areas, whether it be hospitality, health or wherever. It is important to look back at all of the various initiatives that have been taken. We are not standing still. We are being proactive.
Should post-primary teachers so wish, they are entitled to work an additional 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term. This has provided a significant number of additional hours. Specifically in reference to the Dublin allowance, I acknowledge that whatever we do in terms of a Dublin allowance would also have to be done for other sectors of society. We keep everything under review. I must also say with regard to the salary that would be provided with a Dublin allowance, the London salary is similar to the salary being provided for teachers in this country without a Dublin allowance. It has not necessarily solved the entirety of issues in London either.
I sometimes feel the Department is depending on the fact that schools do not want to speak in their own communities about the crisis they face. It does not give a good look to a school to be speaking about the fact it cannot fill its staff with teachers. I wonder whether the Department is almost depending on this. This doubly disadvantages disadvantaged schools. It disproportionately hurts disadvantaged schools. It also disproportionately hurts children with additional needs because, in a crisis in a school, a principal will make the tough choice of taking a teacher from additional needs education and putting them into a mainstream class.
The Minister's first response referenced an initiative at post-primary level. This is most acute at primary level. The Minister must really have been taken aback when she saw the results of the survey. If a Dublin allowance is not something the Minister thinks can deliver answers, we are all waiting for the answer she does have. So many school classrooms in Dublin and throughout the country, but most acutely in Dublin, do not have teachers or they do not have trained teachers.
I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin. I reiterate that we are being proactive and very open to working with partners in education for other initiatives. We are open to looking at everything. For example, I record our gratitude to the more than 3,400 trainee teachers who have registered with the Teaching Council and made themselves available for substitute cover in schools. This is a relatively new initiative. There is a significant input and uplift of staff in our schools. We have also introduced other measures. The issue of posts of responsibility is significant. It is consistently raised with regard to encouraging leadership in a school.
I want to be clear about a Dublin allowance. What happens in London has not solved all of the issues there.
The current payment for staff is very similar to what people are getting in London without any additional allowance here. Notwithstanding this, we look at everything, and we are open to looking at everything. It will, however, have an impact on other aspects of society, whether this is in healthcare, An Garda Síochána or whatever the case might be.
