Ms Claire O'Connell:

I will take this question first. There are certainly recruitment challenges, but this is not just a problem in the prison education area but right across the whole education sector. There is a serious shortage of teachers in some subjects, such as in home economics, mathematics and Irish, in certain cases. Therefore, it is a challenge to be able to provide education in every subject area. Our teachers are incredibly flexible and innovative and will often turn their hands to virtually any subject. The reality, certainly in the prisons where I am based, is that most learning happens at Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, levels 2 and 3. Most of our focus is on the more modular learning QQI awards. Frequently, because this is adult basic education, teachers will turn their hands to virtually any subject to ensure it is facilitated. It becomes more challenging if there is a need to facilitate a leaving certificate maths class and there is no maths teacher available. There are recruitment challenges then, but this is an issue across the entire education sector. There are many reasons for this. In Dublin, the cost of living is certainly a significant factor in attracting teachers to employment in this area.

Opportunities could be presented by digital learning. Sweden, for example, has a fantastic e-learning programme. My understanding is that a teacher is based in a computer classroom in a prison. The learners are all online but they are taking classes with a teacher in another prison somewhere else in Sweden. The teacher co-ordinating the room could be a geography teacher but the students might be online with a maths teacher from a prison elsewhere in the country. It is a fantastic way of delivering classes. It would not replace face-to-face learning, but it would complement it. It would also help to address the shortage of staff in certain areas in prison education centres.