Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this very timely, and as my colleague has alluded to, very well put together motion. Before I came in, I spoke to the principal of a primary school and she told me that the reality is that they cannot teach children without teachers yet teachers are being exported daily. She told me that without substitute teachers being available, she is constantly having to split classes or as a last report, cancel learning support meaning they cannot make good the gaps left by Covid-19. As a principal in a DEIS school, she and her teachers go above and beyond for the pupils, because they desperately need education. As the Minister of State knows, education in DEIS schools is about much more than just sitting in the classroom and teaching. It is about the whole school experience and is very often the only place where a child will get a hot meal, a listening ear and all of those things. This principal has extremely dedicated teachers who are really committed to their work but they feel like the Department is forcing them to emigrate. The Minister of State says in her contribution that she is looking at the potential to suspend or amend on a temporary basis, non-statutory leave arrangements which have the effect of creating demand on substitution in schools. I say to the Minister of State that suspending careers breaks and attacking the terms and conditions of teachers sends exactly the wrong message. She could look at offering teachers permanent contracts, at full-time contracts or at ensuring the profession of teaching in this State is made more attractive. She could, of course, though this might be a bit wild, just look at building houses and tackling the housing crisis that 12 years of the Minister of State's party in government has created so teachers could have somewhere to live. Having somewhere to live has now become an aspiration for teachers rather than something they can assume will happen. With 60% of posts on the primary substitute panel in Dublin currently vacant, what is the Minister of State's answer? Cutting the rights and entitlements of teachers and attacking their working conditions is not going to work. The Minister of State should use her time in the wrap-up to withdraw that silly proposal.

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