Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. We discussed continuous professional development. Is there a case for stipulating that one needs a specific qualification, such as a masters degree, for the role? In other professions one must be qualified as one moves up. The early years sector is being professionalised. Many members and witnesses have outlined the importance of leadership in learning and that investment in school leadership will bear fruit. On the basis of that, is there a case for moving gradually toward a situation where principals are professional?
I would be interested to hear the witnesses' comments on Deputy Jim Daly's idea of shared principalship. Internationally there is evidence that principals have more power regarding management of staffs, such as increments, which are performance-related in many countries. Do the witnesses have a view on it? Mr. Byrne said middle management at second level is very much in need of reform having developed over the years. What are the witnesses' thoughts on how it developed and its weaknesses? How did it happen to develop as it did? There was significant development over the past ten or 15 years in terms of different posts and it seemed to be ad hoc.
We all see the difficulty for younger primary teachers. More experienced teachers who are higher up on the payscale, and whom one would have expected to have moved into principal roles, see the difficulties and stress of all that is involved in those roles and balk at taking them on because the pay incentive for them is not as strong. Therefore younger principals are appointed and have to manage more experienced teachers, which creates difficulties. I would welcome any thoughts on that phenomenon.