Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment my colleague, Deputy Thomas Byrne, on putting forward such a coherent and substantive motion. I welcome the teachers' unions in the Gallery and thank them for being here with us.

First, we must acknowledge that there is a problem rather than switching to speaking about curtailing careering breaks or that we have not had a decrease in numbers when we know that student numbers went up, teacher numbers went up in line with them but this has not dealt with the issues in terms of shortages. No doubt, a bit like in the case of nurses, we are training our teachers for export. Two friends of mine, a young couple, both teachers, have been working and living in Dubai for the past two years because they could not sustain themselves on the salaries here due to the cost of living. Ninety per cent of primary schools are finding it difficult to get a substitute teacher. Unqualified persons are teaching our children. There are classrooms often left with no teacher to teach our children.

Pay inequality seems to be the big issue. It seems to be the reason we cannot attract teachers into the profession and also why we cannot retain them. Recently enough, I had cause to visit Newport national school in Mayo. I met the principal and two male teachers, both of whom qualified a year apart. One was on the old pay scale and one was on the new pay scale. The teacher who was getting the better salary was there in support of his colleague. He was there because the inequality is impacting on morale in the school as a result of the fact that the individual sitting beside him was down €30,000 for the past five years. They are working together, side by side, and they know they are getting paid less for the same work. That teacher was there in support of his colleague and I am sure the same is happening across the board. No doubt while not every teacher is affected the same, they all share the same goals in ensuring equality across the board - equal pay for equal work.

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