Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Saying there are challenges in some schools or areas is a significant understatement of the problem. The problem is getting worse year on year. Of the 809 vacant primary teaching posts nationwide, 513 are in Dublin. In my constituency, Dublin 24 has 58 vacancies, Dublin 15 has 35 vacancies and Dublin 12 has 33 vacancies. Teachers and principals have written to the Minister warning her that this has reached crisis point and that they are tired and worn out from trying to find teachers for the most disadvantaged and marginalised children. In correspondence to her, they wrote that teachers were moving to schools closer in their homes due to the rising cost of living and young teachers could not find accommodation in Dublin.

There are a number of simple answers to this. Accommodation for key workers like teachers needs to be prioritised. There is the idea of a Dublin allowance to address the cost-of-living crisis. Permanent and decent contracts for teachers could be guaranteed and we could recognise the principle of equal pay for equal work by ensuring that young teachers were no longer on a lower pay scale.

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