Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht teacht isteach chun an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a phlé. Everybody is struggling today. That is no secret. This recession has hit everyone hard and deep. One legacy of good and bad times has been overcrowded classrooms. I have often lamented the day that we missed the opportunity to address this issue during the Celtic tiger era when governments dealt with budgetary surpluses of billions and billions of euro. I commend the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, the Ministers of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputies Cannon and Sherlock, and the Department for maintaining class sizes during this difficult time when we have been forced to borrow between €10 billion and €20 billion every year.

I want to raise an issue about a school in West Cork, Castlehaven national school. In that school there are 39 students in the junior and senior infant classes. Several of those students have special learning needs and the teacher is also acting principal of a four-teacher school. That would be my idea of a horrendous, impossible job. To her credit, the teacher does it extremely well, as the parents of the pupils inform me.

It has been suggested to the school that JobBridge might be an option. When I examined the JobBridge scheme I realised that the board of management has informed the parents that it is not an option because of the opposition of the INTO which has instructed its members not to allow JobBridge workers into the school. JobBridge would solve the problem in Castlehaven. The board of management could pay €50 a week and take on a fully-trained graduate teacher who could in turn gain some valuable teaching experience. That teacher would also be able to complete the training which requires doing 30 or 40 weeks of the teaching diploma in the primary school classroom in order to receive the full qualification.

Unfortunately, many teachers who apply for jobs now are automatically thrown off the list because they do not have their teaching qualification for want of teaching experience. One school in my constituency recently received 138 applications for a maternity leave vacancy last month. Principals will of course eliminate anybody who is not qualified, or who does not have the teaching experience. I am aware of numerous principals and boards of management who would love to have people from JobBridge come into the school to assist where classrooms are overcrowded and so gain the experience that is deemed necessary.

I have raised the issue informally and have written formally to the INTO asking it to review its opposition to this issue. As a former member of the INTO, I understand how unions work, and can appreciate its position. Combined strength, however, is not always in the best interests of everybody. This is an example of how that combined strength works against some people's best interests. To oppose the JobBridge proposal is not in the best interests of the students who are in classrooms of over 30, as the INTO highlighted in a recent survey, nor is it in the interests of the hundreds of teachers who have graduated from colleges in Ireland over the past decade and who cannot get teaching positions or complete their formal qualification because they cannot get into the classroom. JobBridge offers a straightforward way to deal with that issue.

One could argue that the victims of this stance could portray opposition to the JobBridge scheme as an attitude of "I'm alright Jack, close the door after me". I do not think that is true in many cases but those who oppose it could stand accused of that attitude. I urge the Government to work pro-actively, to engage positively with the union and ask it, and particularly its executive, to show some leadership in dealing with this issue so that, at the very least, it would give a commitment to providing some derogation from doling out punishment to teachers who co-operate with the JobBridge scheme and who allow graduate teachers into their schools to gain experience. There are hundreds of teachers who are more than happy to do this. This scheme does not affect or give rise to displacement. There is no displacement whatsoever as a result of the JobBridge scheme.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge that the various budget measures that have taken place in recent years can limit the employment opportunities for newly qualified teachers. Although there are limits to the number of teaching posts that we can afford to fund as a country, I am pleased to say that in the recent budget, the Government laid a strong emphasis on protecting the education sector, as the Deputy has acknowledged.

It is estimated that an additional 1,400 teachers will be recruited in primary and post-primary schools in 2014. This will include providing more teachers to meet rising pupil numbers as well as additional resource teachers for children with special educational needs. This will create significant additional employment opportunities for teachers and help address some of the issues raised.

In addition, a number of measures have been taken in recent years to alleviate difficulties for new teachers, the cohort about which the Deputy spoke. My Department has directed managerial authorities of schools to recruit unemployed teachers ahead of retired ones. In addition, the Department of Social Protection's JobBridge national internship scheme provides newly qualified teachers with opportunities to gain experience and to undertake the necessary teaching duties to complete the process of probation.

Circular 46/2011 issued by this Department makes the scheme available to schools and education and training boards and sets out necessary rules to be followed where an intern is employed by a school. These rules are designed to give schools access to extra resources as well as providing valuable experience to the interns that allows them to undergo the probation process. Figures from the Department of Social Protection indicate a total of 58 internships have been described as being "teaching positions" since its commencement in 2011. I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Jim Daly when he stresses that allowing this to happen within the school environment is a win-win situation for everyone. It is a win for the young people in the school, the teaching staff who can have newly qualified teachers on campus working closely with them to develop their skills and the newly qualified teachers gaining access to that probation opportunity when it might not otherwise be available to them in these very difficult times.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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My youngest boy started in junior infants this year. We are very fortunate because he is in a class of fewer than 30 students. When I look at parents who see their children starting out in school in classes of 39 in junior and senior infants where a number of those students have learning difficulties, it is nothing short of wrong. We must be more proactive in assisting these schools. We know the ratio is one to 28 but it does not always work out that way with enrolments. This school is a case in point.

I am appealing to the Minister of State in the Department to take on board cases like that of Castlehaven national school. I appreciate the Minister of State may not be able to produce a fully qualified teacher this year, and I believe the Minister will make efforts to do that next year. I would ask that, at the very least, help be given to a qualified teacher who would love to get the experience, is waiting in the wings and wants to go into the school but cannot do so because the board of management has said that the INTO is opposed to this. I appeal to the Minister to use his good offices and those of the Department to appeal to the INTO at the very least to give an undertaking not to punish any teacher who allows another teacher to come into the school to get the experience they need. I appreciate the decision was taken at the conference and it probably cannot row back on it for a few months until April 2014. In this case, a teaching principal is in the classroom but there many cases similar to Castlehaven around the country. It is not holding Castlehaven back very much. It was the county finalist in County Cork for two years running. Its achievements are massive. I will use this opportunity to congratulate the Castlehaven team on being the Cork county senior football champions again this year. I am glad to add that Deputy Martin's Nemo Rangers were the victims this time. On a serious note, this is a school and community that deserve the breaks as do many schools and communities throughout the land. I hope the Minister of State will pledge here that he and the Minister will make contact with the union to address this issue.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I appeal to the INTO to reconsider the position it has adopted. As Deputy Jim Daly pointed out, no displacement would occur in the context of having these JobBridge teachers in schools across the country. In the context of 1,400 new teachers being appointed next year, I think the INTO would and should draw the conclusion that we are very serious about enhancing opportunities for newly qualified teachers and indeed minimising the worst effects of the harsh winds of recession on the education sector as best we can. The Minister and I will ask the INTO to take a more lenient view of teachers who engage in the process and who would actively allow a JobBridge intern to be recruited to their schools between now and its next conference where it will, hopefully, have the opportunity to overturn this decision.