Ms Deirdre O'Connor:

I would like to address Deputy Ó Cuív's points on the teaching principal and the possibility of a scale. We have looked at the practicalities of that. It arises in the context of the substitution for those teachers. One could devise some kind of a scale but might end up with the teaching principal out of his or her classroom more often. Our minimum demand is for a day a week. However, that has to be accompanied by a proper arrangement for a supply panel for teachers. What is happening at the present time in some areas is that teaching principals are not able to avail of their administrative days because of the lack of availability of substitute teachers. It goes back to the point that was made about equality of pay for our younger teachers. We have to make it attractive for our younger teachers, not only in terms of pay, but also in terms of working conditions. A supply panel of substitute teachers would be of huge benefit to rural schools, small schools and schools with teaching principals. A teaching principal would then know that he or she definitely could get a substitute for administrative days. That is a key point. There are technicalities to that, such as how the teaching day or week is divided up in terms of substitution and the proper resourcing of it.

On the points Senator Warfield made about the curriculum and broadband, schools have adopted ICT hardware. Most schools now have access to whiteboards and to other hardware.

However, one of the big challenges for schools is the maintenance of that hardware. There is no support for schools for maintenance or ICT support. Teachers are well disposed to the use of ICT and broadband where it is available. Young teachers are coming out of colleges of education with a four year BEd or even six years of training and they are well up to speed with the use of such technology and are able to deliver the curriculum.

The Vice Chairman made some points regarding the figures on teachers and the numbers in small schools. One of the figures we examined in the context of another piece of work was the number of teacher posts that were created in the west as opposed to the east. It is clear that the population growth in eastern and urban areas is driving up the number of teachers in those areas and leading to a lack of permanent teaching posts in western counties and a fall-off in numbers in some of those schools. That is something we must monitor and take into account.

The resourcing of boards of management is very interesting. One point about a multiplicity of small schools in one parish is that the parish is obliged to sustain, for example, three separate boards of management for three separate small schools. That is, perhaps, 24 volunteers to run those schools. The issue is how those boards of management are supported given that they are the employers of teachers and therefore need human resources, HR, support, legal support and advice relating to those areas. There is something of a mismatch because the Department of Education and Skills says that the board must carry out certain functions and the Department cannot assist with that, particularly with regard to employment and so forth. It is a very difficult area. Again with regard to boards of management, the issue of parental choice has been raised. It is important to bear in mind that 80% of primary schools enrol all comers. That relates to Senator Warfield's point as well. Those schools are especially schools in rural areas, which are extremely inclusive in terms of children with special educational needs, children of all faiths and none, children who have come from abroad and local children.

Those are the matters on which I wished to respond.