John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

While I thank the Minister of State for his reply, it does not get to the kernel of the issue. I received the following e-mail from a constituent last week:

... I'm just emailing you in relation to the selection process as to how teachers are selected to supervise our national exams in the month of June. As a part time secondary teacher I've applied five years in a row and to no avail every year even though I know many retired teachers and principals carry out this work every summer.

This sums up the message I am getting. How many part-time or temporary teachers and how many retired teachers were appointed as examination superintendents in 2011? The Minister of State may provide the figures later if they are not available.

As I noted, the Minister issued an instruction to schools to appoint qualified unemployed teachers to new positions. Could a similar instruction be given to schools in respect of last minute supervisory appointments, for which I understand they are responsible? Surely, if the Minister can issue an instruction to primary schools on recruitment, he can issue an instruction to secondary schools on examination superintendent positions.

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