Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I am not sure if there is any connection between boys doing honours Irish for the leaving certificate and their subsequent entry into the training colleges. It is useful to look at the numbers across both sectors, as Deputy O'Sullivan has done. For example, when the appointment of teachers at primary school last year is considered, 1,213 female teachers were appointed and only 144 male teachers. This represents a 9:1 ratio, which is of great concern. The situation is somewhat better at second level in the voluntary, secondary, community and comprehensive schools where 279 male teachers were appointed for the first time, which represents 29.1% of the total number of first-time appointees. This is genuinely a concern. However, various factors are involved in this trend, including personal choice, parental influence, career guidance, academic ability and the image of teaching as a career generally, particularly for men. The factors also include the image of the colleges of education, perhaps based on tradition rather than fact and perceptions regarding pay and conditions.

I look forward to receiving the report to see the recommendations. There are positive moves that could be taken, but one must be very careful about equality legislation to ensure one does not discriminate in favour of one group. I am conscious of the trend because of the need to have role models of both genders.

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