Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Is mian liom buíochas a ghabháil leis na Teachtaí a d'inis a gcuid scéalta, a chuir chomh mór leis an díospóireacht seo ar sholáthar mhúinteoirí. Tá ról ríthábhachtach ag múinteoirí i sochaí na tíre seo. Tá an t-ádh linn go bhfuil múinteoirí den scoth againn atá tiomanta do ghairm na múinteoireachta. Sula ndéanaim cur síos ar na ceisteanna tábhachtacha atá curtha chun cinn ag na Teachtaí Dála, sílim go bhfuil sé tábhachtach béim faoi leith a chur ar chúrsaí áirithe. Tugann an Rialtas seo tús áite d'infheistíocht san earnáil oideachais. Tá sé mar aidhm ag an Aire go mbeidh seirbhís oideachais agus oiliúna na hÉireann ar an tseirbhís is fearr ar fud na hEorpa. Tacaíonn an Rialtas leis an aidhm seo. Tá méadú de €1 billiún tagtha ar infheistíocht san earnáil oideachais le dhá bhliain anuas. De bharr an infheistíocht bhreise seo, d'éirigh leis an Aire níos mó ná 5,000 mhúinteoirí breise a earcú le dhá bhliain anuas.

Deputies have raised a number of questions. Deputy Calleary mentioned funding. An extra €1 billion has been provided in the past two years within the Department funding. Department funding has reached its highest ever level, at more than €10 billion for the coming year. This Government is recruiting more teachers now than at any other time in the history of the State. This is very significant and has been welcomed, I assume, by many Deputies here. It is important to note that the number of graduates from initial teacher training colleges has also remained constant in the past five years. We have seen more than 8,000 primary school teachers and more than 7,800 second level teachers graduate from initial teacher education. In 2018, it is estimated that about 1,870 primary teachers will graduate and 1,520 post-primary teachers will graduate. This is in line with graduate levels in recent years.

Deputy Michael Collins mentioned SNAs. The number of SNAs in our schools has been also increased, and from September will have increased to more than 15,000 SNAs across the sector. This is also to be welcomed.

The motion before us references the issue of pay. It is important for Deputies to remember that differential pay scales were created by the last Fianna Fáil Government in 2010 in response to the financial crisis during its last term. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, concluded an agreement with the teachers' unions in 2016 which gave newly qualified teachers a pay increase of 15% to 22%, the second payment of which was received by teachers on 1 January this year, meaning a teacher straight out of college will start on nearly €36,000. Under the new public service stability agreement, the starting salary for a teacher will be more than €37,600 from October 2020. I accept that teachers' unions have outstanding pay demands and that this deal does not travel the full distance they wish to achieve, and I know a number of Deputies have highlighted that, including Deputies Lisa Chambers and Eugene Murphy. However, significant progress has been made, and the door is not closed to the trade unions seeking to advance the issue further. A commitment is included in the new agreement to consider the issue of pay for newly qualified teachers within 12 months of the commencement of the agreement.

Deputies have also raised a number of issues reported by some schools regarding the difficulty in recruiting substitute teachers in primary schools and issues around recruiting certain subject teachers at second level. One of the consequences of having recruited thousands of new teachers on permanent contracts in primary schools is that young teachers are less likely to want to take up short-term, temporary or substitute roles, which arise in schools for a number of reasons, including the need to cover sick leave and career breaks. A number of measures are being taken in the immediate short term, including ensuring, in as far as possible, that as many retiring and retired teachers remain on the Teaching Council register. The Minister is considering other measures in this area to alleviate pressure and he will make an announcement in this regard shortly.

Some post-primary schools have reported shortages in recruiting teachers in specific subjects at post-primary level, such as the STEM subjects, as alluded to by Deputy Broughan, Irish and home economics. Part of the reason for this is an imbalance in the availability of teachers in certain subjects, with an oversupply of teachers in some areas and an undersupply in others. The Minister is considering a range of measures to resolve these issues and has already introduced some interventions, including an increase in the number of students admitted to St. Angela's, Sligo, to follow the home economics programme, which is one of the areas of tightness, with further expansion in future years. As part of the policy on Gaeltacht education, the Minister has increased the number of places in the professional master of education programme in NUI Galway. The Minister is considering what further actions are necessary.

The number of people applying for teacher training has broadly remained constant in recent years, with similar numbers applying to train as primary school teachers at undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as to train as a second level teacher at undergraduate level. Reports that there are only, for example, six students in training to be physics teachers are completely incorrect. Twenty-one physics students are currently in a PME course to become a second level teacher. However, the postgraduate PME route is only one way in which to graduate as a second level science teacher. There are now a number of options to train as a science teacher at undergraduate level, including in UL, DCU, UCC and St. Angela's. In the 2016-17 academic year there were 467 students training to be science teachers. However, there has been a fall in the number training to be second level teachers at postgraduate level. This issue must be carefully examined, and will be, by the Minister.

Teacher supply planning is a complex matter and requires good underlying statistics and analysis across a number of areas. Advice submitted by the Teaching Council provides useful guidance on the development of a long-term teacher supply planning model for primary level and more general advice for post-primary.

I acknowledge the number of suggestions made by Deputies, including Deputies Maureen O'Sullivan, Fitzmaurice and Brendan Smith, regarding the Teaching Council.

The Minister and his officials are working on a range of proposals to address the current difficulties in teacher supply and substitution. In advancing proposals, there will be consultation with relevant groups and stakeholders. A number of steps have already been taken and a programme of action will be announced shortly by the Minister. I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. The Minister is committed to working with all stakeholders in the best interests of schools, learners and academics.

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