Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----relate to 2013.Irish teachers are paid, on average, 17% above the OECD median. OECD countries are the most developed in the world. I just want to put that on record. As a former teacher, I certainly do not think teachers are overpaid. I think they earn their keep. It is a very demanding job and has become much more demanding since my time in the classroom. We have been very fortunate to get some of the best people in the country. I am not saying this because I am a former teacher. We were good at recruiting very able people to the teaching profession to our great benefit.