Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— a recent Teachers' Union of Ireland survey found 91 per cent of post-primary schools experienced teacher recruitment difficulties in the past six months, while 61 per cent experienced teacher retention difficulties;

— almost two-thirds of primary schools in the Dublin area are short-staffed, while Wicklow and Kildare face similar shortages;

— 62 per cent of posts on teacher supply panels in Dublin are vacant, with 10 per cent of posts outside Dublin also vacant;

— some special education teachers are being forced to plug gaps in primary school mainstream classrooms, with a recent survey by the Irish Primary Principals Network finding 83 per cent of schools, as a last resort, have had to redeploy special education teachers to mainstream classes to plug the gaps;

— in the House on 29th November, 2022, Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated that "As a basic principle, I think teachers and special needs resources should stay in special needs" and "resources should always be ring-fenced for special needs students";

— on Morning Ireland on 30th November, 2022, Minister of State at the Department of Education, Josepha Madigan TD said that she has always made it very clear in her capacity as Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion, that no special education teacher, or Special Needs Assistant, should be used other than the purpose for which they were assigned, and that if it is happening, it should not be happening;

— many post-primary schools are currently unable to offer a full range of subjects, with some employing personnel to teach subjects which they are unqualified to teach;

— the Department of Education predicted in 2021 the need for over 4,000 additional post-primary teachers within the next five years;

— the cost and availability of housing in Dublin and other urban centres around the country is preventing teachers from taking up posts, training and studying in these areas;

— the cost-of-living crisis is further exacerbating the housing crisis; and

— Ireland's teaching workforce is not representative of the wider Irish society, with people from working class and minority backgrounds taking up few teaching posts across the country;

agrees that:

— the Professional Master of Education (PME) is not financially viable for many who wish to become a teacher;

— it is not financially viable for many teachers to take up posts in Dublin and other urban centres due to the cost and availability of housing;

— where special education teachers are rostered to work in primary school mainstream classrooms, those with special educational needs are being neglected and denied their constitutional and statutory right to an education appropriate to meet their needs;

— employing personnel to teach subjects which they are unqualified to teach is an inadequate solution to teacher shortages and is detrimental to students' education; and

— the recruitment of teachers from working class and minority backgrounds is rare; and

calls for:

— the immediate establishment of an emergency teacher supply taskforce to identify tangible solutions to the shortages, informed by stakeholders;

— the Minister for Education to work with Higher Education Institutions to facilitate 3rd and 4th year student teachers, and master's students, to engage in increased substitution work;

— eliminate delays surrounding the re-registration of teachers with the Teaching Council;

— teachers in training to be paid for their work in placement schools;

— a review of the PME, which was increased from one year to two years in 2014, with significant additional costs associated with the increased duration of the course;

— permanent whole-time jobs to be given to teachers upon initial appointment;

— substantial union representation on the Department of Education's Teacher Supply Steering Group;

— the creation of funded scholarships to be awarded to excellent candidates and candidates from minority backgrounds pursuing primary school teaching and qualifications;

— the immediate introduction of a punitive 10 per cent tax on vacant homes;

— enforcement of short-term letting platforms like Airbnb so that short-term lets return to the long-term rental market; and

— the immediate acceleration and expansion of affordable purchase and Cost Rental housing schemes.

My contribution will focus on the crisis as it exists in our schools, that is, the teacher shortage and retention crisis. I intend to return to some of the issues that have been raised in the media, particularly in relation to the change in the narrative of a teacher shortage crisis to a focus, purposely I believe, on career breaks, which are now being discussed. I believe that was a tactic on the part of the Department and I will challenge it in my contribution.

This teacher recruitment and retention crisis in our schools did not happen overnight. It has been more than a decade in the making and it is the result of flawed policy decisions by successive Governments. Even before the pandemic and the cost-of-living squeeze that followed, the seeds were already sown for the serious staff shortages we are now seeing in our schools. The introduction of a lower salary scale for new entrants to the profession in 2010 probably marked the start of the decline. The situation was worsened a few years later when it became more difficult and exorbitantly expensive to qualify as a teacher.

Our schools are paying a high price for these short-sighted decisions. The figures are grim. A recent Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI, survey found that 91% of post-primary schools experienced recruitment difficulties in the past six months, while 61% reported problems with teacher retention. Almost two thirds of primary schools in Dublin are short-staffed, with Wicklow and Kildare facing similar issues. There are slim pickings for schools that turn to teacher supply panels to deal with staff absences, with 62% of posts vacant in Dublin and 10% vacant outside the capital. This is putting principals under severe pressure and impacting the ability of schools to meet the day-to-day educational needs of their students. It is an outrage that children with additional needs are losing valuable tuition hours because of the recruitment crisis. We are failing those who most need our support.

A recent survey by the Irish Primary Principals' Network, IPPN, found that 83% of schools have had no option but to redeploy special education teachers to plug the gaps in mainstream classes. The Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, recently ruled out the reintroduction of the banked hours system that operated during Covid for pupils with special needs. This would result in the restoration of any lost tuition time later in the school year. Banked hours should only be used as a last resort, but they should be reinstated as a minimum stopgap measure. Children with additional needs must be shielded from the teacher recruitment crisis so they can reach their full potential within our education system. They are the ones most at risk of regressing, both socially and academically, if they lose vital in-class learning supports.

Given the reality in our schools, it is the height of hypocrisy for the Government to state that special education teachers should not be used as substitutes in mainstream classes. Senior Ministers are so out of touch that they deny this is even an issue. I refer to an interview the Minister of State did recently with RTÉ, in which she stated: "I’ve always made it very clear in my capacity as Minister for special education that no special education teacher, or SNA, should be used other than the purpose for which they were assigned." Let me tell the Minister of State that this is exactly what is happening in 83% of our schools, according to a recent survey. The fact that the Minister of State with special responsibility for this area does not even recognise the existence of this crisis is a serious concern to me and the families who have contacted our offices.

Recruitment issues are leading to greater inequalities in our education system. One grind school has reported a 100% increase in demand for its courses across a range of subjects, which it attributes to teacher shortages. This has created a situation where students from wealthier backgrounds will have an academic advantage when it comes to State examinations and higher education options. While this has forever been the case, it is certainly being exacerbated under this Government. Some schools have had to drop subjects from the curriculum due to the lack of qualified teachers, while many substitutes are merely taking up supervisory roles in the classrooms. This will potentially affect students’ future careers and college choices.

This week, a principal in Dublin was forced to appeal for substitute teachers on social media, warning that schools were at breaking point due to staff shortages. Taking to Twitter to appeal for teachers - that is what we have in this country. I have heard first-hand testimonies from principals about the devastating impact this crisis is having on their schools.

As a starting point, the Social Democrats are seeking the establishment of an emergency teacher supply task force, with the involvement of all stakeholders - teachers, principals and trade unions. It is vital that teachers, school principals and union representatives have their voices heard as part of any proposed solutions. We are asking the Minister to work with higher education institutes to increase the numbers of third- and fourth-year student teachers and master’s students engaging in substitution work. We also believe that teachers in training should be paid for their work in placement schools.

Barriers to taking up a career in teaching, including financial and academic ones, must be removed if we are to incentivise people to take up teaching. We have proposed a review of the professional master of education, PME, which was increased from one to two years in 2014, with the longer duration leading to significant additional costs. A recent study found that more than 40% of students participating in the PME are reliant on parents or partners for funding. This puts huge pressure on family finances and can cause high levels of financial stress. Since the PME was expanded, it now costs €12,500 to complete the two-year course. This compares with €5,000 for the one-year master’s course just up the road in Belfast.

A lack of affordable accommodation, particularly in Dublin where monthly rents now average almost €2,300 a month, has been identified as a major disincentive to teachers taking up temporary posts. The underlying causes of the housing crisis must be addressed in tandem with measures to increase the supply of qualified teachers. Steps to increase housing supply will be key. My colleague, Deputy Cian O’Callaghan, will speak to these shortly. Increasing supply can be achieved by regulating short-term letting platforms, such as Airbnb, thereby potentially returning properties to the long-term rental market. A punitive 10% tax on vacant homes would also increase supply, along with the acceleration of affordable purchase and cost-rental housing schemes. It is completely unreasonable to ask a teacher to move to a new location if he or she does not have a job or financial security.

The motion calls for permanent, full-time positions to be given to teachers upon their initial appointment and for the elimination of the outrageously long delays for those re-registering with the Teaching Council.

Ireland’s teaching workforce is not representative of wider Irish society, with people from working class and minority backgrounds taking up few posts across the country. To this end, we are calling for the introduction of funded scholarships for excellent candidates from minority backgrounds to allow them to pursue primary school teaching qualifications.

There are no quick-fix solutions to the teacher recruitment crisis. It will require systemic change and leadership, which has been lacking to date from this Government and the two preceding Governments.

Before my colleagues address some of the specifics of this crisis, I remind the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, that this system is broken and verging on collapse. The list of actions they have often reeled off as solutions for the media are ineffective. We have been watching our schools slide deeper into turmoil under their watch. These issues must be tackled as a matter of urgency. We have no time to waste.

Urgency was the reason we tabled this motion. It is no coincidence that many of the proposals in the motion, which we submitted last week, are now being taken up according to media reports, for example, in respect of short-term lets.

Yesterday's announcement that career breaks are to be taken off the agenda was like a sledgehammer for the teaching profession. Let us be very clear. We are asking for solutions to address the problems as they exist today. There are 2,000 teachers on career breaks. This proposal will not bring them back into the profession or get teacher into classrooms to alleviate the crisis being experienced. What it has done, very conveniently for this Government, is change the narrative. It is no longer about the Government’s failure or the fact that the cost of living and cost of housing crises, which have been expedited under this Government, are the reason this is happening.

It was a cruel and targeted measure and one that will increase the absence of morale among the teaching profession.

There were solutions to this crisis. We could look at the prohibitive cost of €12,500 for a person taking on a master's degree. All of these were solutions that could have been implemented but instead this Department has gone to the lowest hanging fruit and done what it has always done, which is to attack the teachers rather than to work with them. What will we do to incentivise people into the profession? What will we do to encourage people to come back? I know people who went into teaching as a vocation and a passion but they simply cannot afford to live in our cities. That is at the root of this crisis and it is at the root of the failure of this Government, the one before that and the one before that. It is not about career breaks but about the Government's failure.

See this speech in context