Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that very clear statement. I have spoken to him about this on foot of my experience as chair of a board of management and it is a situation which other schools are also facing. Boards are in a difficult position. They want to be flexible with teachers who come to the board seeking a career break but it has been extremely difficult. Today is the deadline for applications for this year. I know that there will be boards which will dread that first meeting in February where these decisions will have to be made. What the Minister has said here is very clear. Time will tell if suspending those restrictions will have the effect that the Minister says it will have. There are so many demands on boards of management, which are voluntary. This directive and the Minister's input could be very helpful in resolving the inordinate number of career break requests that some schools are getting.

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