Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I offer my condolences to the Minister of State and his family on the death of his uncle, Michael, who was a former Deputy. I worked with his son, James, on the council.

Teacher recruitment in key areas like Irish, maths, home economics and French is difficult in most second level schools. Most secondary schools have vacancies, according to a survey of principals. A TUI poll of almost 100 principals and deputy principals found that 91% had experienced difficulty in hiring qualified teachers in the past six months. The union has stated that recruitment and retention problems are affecting the quality of education for students, who can miss out on subject choices. Some teachers are getting minimum contract hours and are unable to pay their rents or for cars to drive to school.

Like gardaí, teachers can be placed anywhere in the country. This is not affordable. I listened to Deputy Ó Ríordáin of the Labour Party speaking about Dublin, the capital. When Labour was in government, it helped to destroy Dublin by overpopulating it. If the population was spread around the country, it would help businesses, schools and everything else. Every Deputy has his or her own capital, and mine is Limerick. I will do whatever I must for Limerick city and county. That is what I am here to do. Rural Independents have been blamed for this situation, but we are not to blame. It was the fault of the Labour Party when it was in government, when it destroyed Dublin and made it too expensive for anyone who wants to work and live here. That is on Labour's own back.

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