Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before I call Senator Paul Gavan, may I ask Mr. Byrne again about the 300 hours? When somebody qualifies to become a teacher, he or she has a three year period in which to get 300 hours experience. One could be teaching 22 hours a week but one may not be teaching the particular subjects one studied to degree level, so the hours do not qualify. I am speaking from a personal point of view, as a teacher of history and economics, one could be teaching for the whole day but none of those hours count because one is not teaching the subjects that one qualified in. Will that be a particular difficulty for young teachers trying to get his or her pin?