Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

To give the Deputy a straight answer, I am not in a position to do this. As he is well aware, the boards of management of schools have autonomy in respect of who they hire and fire. There is an issue of governance in that regard. I ask the Deputy to have faith in the process being undertaken. We must obtain the results of the survey and analyse them. As announced on 12 September, a programme that will allow for continuing education and continuing professional development, CPD, for unqualified maths teachers is to be rolled out. The contract in this regard is due to go to tender shortly. I would be cautious with regard to the Department exercising control over decisions made by individual schools. Again, I ask the Deputy to have faith. We will analyse the results of the survey and proceed cautiously. There must be an outcome which ensures teachers are properly qualified and that students obtain good results in their examinations. In that context, we must seek to ensure there is a deeper engagement in this matter. We will not turn the ship around overnight; it is going to take some time to do this.

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