Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that the various budget measures that have taken place in recent years can limit the employment opportunities for newly qualified teachers. Although there are limits to the number of teaching posts that we can afford to fund as a country, I am pleased to say that in the recent budget, the Government laid a strong emphasis on protecting the education sector, as the Deputy has acknowledged.

It is estimated that an additional 1,400 teachers will be recruited in primary and post-primary schools in 2014. This will include providing more teachers to meet rising pupil numbers as well as additional resource teachers for children with special educational needs. This will create significant additional employment opportunities for teachers and help address some of the issues raised.

In addition, a number of measures have been taken in recent years to alleviate difficulties for new teachers, the cohort about which the Deputy spoke. My Department has directed managerial authorities of schools to recruit unemployed teachers ahead of retired ones. In addition, the Department of Social Protection's JobBridge national internship scheme provides newly qualified teachers with opportunities to gain experience and to undertake the necessary teaching duties to complete the process of probation.

Circular 46/2011 issued by this Department makes the scheme available to schools and education and training boards and sets out necessary rules to be followed where an intern is employed by a school. These rules are designed to give schools access to extra resources as well as providing valuable experience to the interns that allows them to undergo the probation process. Figures from the Department of Social Protection indicate a total of 58 internships have been described as being "teaching positions" since its commencement in 2011. I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Jim Daly when he stresses that allowing this to happen within the school environment is a win-win situation for everyone. It is a win for the young people in the school, the teaching staff who can have newly qualified teachers on campus working closely with them to develop their skills and the newly qualified teachers gaining access to that probation opportunity when it might not otherwise be available to them in these very difficult times.

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