Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I thank everyone for their presentations. It is obvious to me that pay is the big issue for new teachers coming through. Why would someone opt to stay here? Even if they did opt to stay, I can see why they would go abroad after a year or two because not only are they on lower pay, they probably also have a much larger class size, have to battle for everything, for example, resource hours or special needs assistants for children who need them, and cannot find anywhere to live that is affordable. Of course, people are going to leave.

We must address not just pay but some of the other issues around funding. I think Mr. Mulconry touched on the fact that we must start taking it seriously and look at the class size issue. I do not know the witnesses' experience but I regularly meet parents who cannot get a special needs assistant or resource hours even though we are constantly told that they have been increased. Housing is a different topic, but obviously it has an impact on that sector because people cannot afford to live here, particularly in Dublin and especially when they are on far lower pay than their colleagues.

I want to ask two things. There is a teacher shortage, yet so many teachers are not getting full-time hours and are on fixed-term contracts. Will the witnesses explain and expand on that? We hear of teachers who get a year somewhere but also of a teacher shortage. How is that the case? Is it because of the subject?

I would also like to get the witnesses' opinions on special allowances for students, particularly in post-primary where they are in the leaving certificate cycle. From transition year onwards they are being left without adequate qualified teachers. I believe some kind of allowance should be given. It should not be expected that students should have to do their leaving certificate without proper teaching hours. If that idea were suggested and pushed, would it help to arrive at solutions for the situation?

I feel angry as a parent to be expected to send children into a school but they are not getting the same chance as somebody in a school two miles down the road. We are supposed to put up with that. We need to send a message to parents that they need to start fighting this campaign as well and not leave it up to the teachers and teachers' unions. Parents need to say this is not good enough. We are giving our kids a lesser chance than someone two or three years before them. Many parents are involved but there is a greater role for them to play.