Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this motion and commend the Social Democrats on tabling it. We have a severe crisis in teacher supply at present in both primary and post-primary schools, primarily caused by the cost and availability of housing throughout the country, especially in Dublin and other urban centres. It is greatly exacerbated by the current cost-of-living crisis. Teachers, particularly lower-paid younger teachers, cannot afford the rental costs and have little prospect of being able to manage a mortgage in the big urban centres. While the cost and availability of housing and the cost-of-living crisis are the primary factors, they are not the only problems that led to this crisis. There has been, and continues to be, a lack of planning in the recruitment and retention of teachers going back years. I taught in secondary school and for years we could not get Irish teachers; then we could not get French teachers; and then we could not get mathematics teachers. There has been an issue for a number of years in certain subject areas at second level. There is a pattern to this lack of preparedness across services that are in crisis, including teachers, housing and the health service. It is traced back to inadequate and short-sighted Government policy. At post-primary level in particular, it is about the creation of additional positions. Too many teachers are on insecure, temporary contracts and are underemployed. That is the key part of addressing the supply issue at this level. Delays in registration with the Teaching Council particularly affect teachers who qualified abroad and could be easily addressed and rectified. The cost of the professional master of education, PME, is excessive and reducing that needs to be looked at as well. The Government could remove the October and November cut-offs for permanent contracts so that teachers coming home for Christmas or from abroad would have the opportunity to get full-time contracts that would keep them here. As it stands, they have to apply for a temporary contract, not be paid over the summer and then take their chances for the next year. Cuts to middle management and posts with responsibility imposed in 2009 have not been fully restored. It is crucial to boost promotional prospects within the teaching profession to encourage more people to become teachers. More full-time contracts, promotional opportunities and competitive salaries are needed. More houses also need to be built as well to address the housing shortage.

I am concerned about special education teachers being removed and being put in to manage mainstream classes. Children with special needs are then affected most.

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