Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would never for one minute underestimate the challenges and difficulties in some areas. They are more heightened in some areas than in others. We are a country that is practically at full employment and the challenges we are facing in the education sector are not unique to it. They are evident in healthcare, tourism, retail and many other areas. That said, 70,000 staff are employed by the Department of Education. This is a significant figure, notwithstanding the difficult issues that arise in some instances.

We have introduced a number of initiatives, for example, increasing the number of places on initial primary teacher training by 610, 2,700 student teachers being made available, a €2,000 bursary for those who wish to take up a postgraduate in teaching, 1,000 additional posts of responsibility in the system, and the upskilling of staff free of charge in particular subjects, such as Irish, French, politics and society, computer science, maths, physics and Spanish. We are not standing still. We are intent on doing all that is necessary and happy to keep everything under review in terms of additional measures.

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