Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Social Democrats for raising this important matter. Unfortunately, it is a daily issue for many families and virtually every school. Highlighting it in the Dáil is important because not every school is prepared to come forward and say that it has trouble sourcing teachers, including substitute teachers. Some schools do not want to admit that children are sometimes being minded instead of being taught. Crucially, what school wants to say that its pupils with special needs are not being supported properly? In this context, I thank the Social Democrats. They have now made it easier for schools to say that they have a problem. Suffering in silence helps no one. Schools know that many of them are facing the same issues, given that principals and teachers speak, but once it is recognised that this is a national problem and is not confined to one or two of them, we will have a better chance of finding solutions.

The Minister has proposed a number of positive suggestions and some of her proposals will make a difference in the short term, but much of it is just tinkering around the edges.

We must examine some structural changes in this regard. The proposals in this motion are what the Minister needs to be considering. They are designed to provide solutions in the medium to long term, with one or two short-term proposals as well.

First, we need permanent, full-time jobs to be given to teachers on their first appointments, if these jobs are available. I do not know what is going on here. Perhaps somebody can explain to me why this is not happening. We desperately need teachers, so why are we driving them away by not offering them the full-time jobs we desperately need to fill? When I started teaching, and that was a long time ago, I got a full-time job on day one and all the people who taught with me also got a full-time job on day one. I do not, therefore, know what is happening here or where this is coming from, but it needs to stop.

How are teachers supposed to plan for a life or try to look at getting a mortgage or whatever it is they wish to do? They just cannot. Having put what I referred to in place, we then need a proper promotional structure. It is not enough just to offer people jobs; we must offer them a career pathway. Young teachers are voting with their feet and going abroad. If they were offered decent employment, and what I mean by this is a full-time job with real promotional prospects, more of them would stay. It would not be all of them, but it would be more of them. As several Deputies said, we need a review of the PME. Significant costs of more than €10,000 are involved, and this is stopping people taking this pathway.

Another practical step that can be taken is to eliminate delays when it comes to the re-registration of teachers with the Teaching Council. This is not rocket science. It is an administrative issue and can be dealt with. With regard to those who have taught abroad outside the EU, I suggest to the Minister for Education that she recognise their years of service if they wish to return here and teach. This would help to attract more teachers back.

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