Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a result of the inequality in the present system of teachers' pay, young people who have qualified as teachers since 2011 are losing €6,000 per annum by comparison with those who qualified before that year and they have lost €30,000 to date. We learned yesterday that the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, ASTI, has joined the Irish National Teachers Organisation and the Teachers Union of Ireland in rejecting the public service pay agreement. In fairness to the ASTI, it has decided to stay on to work hard to find a resolution to this issue. We are beginning to see the effects of this problem in our classrooms. There is a shortage of teachers. Unqualified personnel are being asked to stand in to teach some subjects. Clearly, that is not on. It is affecting young children who are in dire need of proper teaching. We have been aware for some time that many younger teachers book flights as soon as they are qualified so they can teach in Dubai or somewhere else where they can get much better terms and conditions. I would like the Leader to invite the Minister for Education and Skills to chart out for us his plans to address this issue before it becomes more serious.