Mr. Paul Byrne:

I will now respond to the former Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. We have identified where the crunch areas are by using the statistics. However, what has not been factored in is that when the professional development time was introduced for the new junior cycle programme and the number of teaching hours went from 22 hours to 21 hours and 20 minutes, it actually took the guts of 700 teachers to fill the time gap. For example, if one has 33 teachers and reduces teaching time by 40 minutes, it means that an extra teacher has to be found. Given that there are 738 schools in the country, that means another 700 teachers have to be recruited.

Senator Robbie Gallagher raised the very interesting question of what we could do. I know that on a daily basis I am spending more and more time in searching for and employing substitute teachers. There are a couple of things that could be done. The State Examinations Commission requires schools to release teachers to conduct examinations in music, home economics and oral language subjects. The practical and oral examinations are centred in one time period of the year. I think Deputy Catherine Martin asked if any teacher's request for leave to conduct the practical examinations had been refused. It is happening because a school does not have a suitable substitute available. How can a principal release a teacher to work for the State Examinations Commission without having a suitable substitute in place, especially in the subject area in which students will be examined. This issue could be addressed in a number of ways. The State Examinations Commission could stagger examinations over the space of two years or especially in the year of the leaving certificate examinations where home economics teachers are not required at the same time as music, geography, Irish and German teachers. Realistically, not all schools are willing and capable of releasing teachers. Another suggestion is to move parts of the examinations to the mid-term break or Easter holiday period. That might have an opposite effect, in that teachers might opt not to conduct the practical examinations and would have to be incentivised more. The students would not lose a week's tuition time when their teacher became an examiner or for two to three days when their teacher was an advising examiner.

I worked as an examiner for the State Examinations Commission for a number of years. The marking conferences used to be held on a Saturday until they were moved to a Friday. Two issues arise. If a teacher is to act as an examiner, he or she must obtain permission from the principal. If examinations were held during holiday time, permission would not need to be sought. Schools are much quieter places in which to conduct examinations when one does not have the full 650 students in them as only approximately 250 students will be participating in the examinations. That issue needs to be investigated.

Circular 0006/2014 from the Department of Education and Skills prevents principals from paying fully qualified teachers for engaging in supervision and substituting duties over and above 43 hours. This is crippling us. There was an opt-out under the supervision and substitution scheme, whereby teachers were allowed to opt out of supervision and substituting duties in the school. In my school 20 out of the 40 teachers will engage in supervision and substituting duties. By April each year, some of the teachers will have completed the 43 hours, but they are quite prepared to continue to engage in corridor supervision duties for absent colleagues. However, the facility to pay them for doing so has been removed, although the money is actually available in the school. There would be no additional cost to the Department of Education and Skills, but section 24 of the circular prevents us from paying the teachers in question. It would help to alleviate the problem. If one line was removed from the circular, it would remove a great deal of stress from principals and deputy principals throughout the system.

Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked about a class being left without an Irish teacher. One may have an Irish teacher among the staff, but if he or she has completed the 43 hours, one cannot ask him or her to do any more. However, if principals had the ability to pay a teacher who had completed his or her 43 hours to substitute for another in the short-term, it would allow them time to recruit somebody else.