Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Take the example of St. Aidan's primary school in Enniscorthy. It has a special needs unit. It is a mainstream school with a staff of 60 or 70. If that was a company, it would have two or three bosses at the top, whereas it does not have that with 1,000 pupils.

It is absolutely mad that this has not been addressed. There is a huge expectation on principals and vice principals. There is more responsibility being heaped on them, not on a weekly, but almost on a daily basis. There are more expectations from parents regarding the way children are taught and that goes back to the principal as well. This is something that the Department of Education has to address quickly. Unfortunately, it has fallen on deaf ears when I have raised it here for the last two and a half years. Covid has really highlighted the issue. I have nothing against post-primary. It deserves this, but that model has to be looked at in the context of primary education.