Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the shortage of home economic teachers in Ireland. Many schools have difficulties when they come to recruit home economics teachers. I have heard of situations where retired teachers have to come back into the system because we do not have the throughput of students studying home economics. St. Angela's College in Sligo is the main college for home economics. It has 80 places for students this year. It had 100 places last year but it dropped the number by 20 places. To drop places when we have such a dearth of home economics teacher coming through the system makes no sense. It changed the profile of the students and the courses they can take. Traditionally one could do the course by taking biology, Irish, religion and economics. Now economics has been dropped. That is a problem because the removal of those 20 places will impact on the system. After the junior certificate examination, young students must put a career path in place. The college has changed the curriculum in the past four weeks.People who have been looking towards the course for two years received notification that it has been cancelled and that is a problem. People need to have a career path put in place and they need to have it planned out. It is unacceptable that a college would change and drop a course like they have done. We need to have a debate about the lack of these teachers and what needs to happen. The course needs more students to go through it because we have a shortage. I hope the Leader will raise the issue with the Department of Education and Skills and maybe the Minister will come to the Chamber to discuss what the long-term plans are for home economics teachers. Unless we get home economics teachers through the system, the shortage will continue to exist. The current system of having retired teachers coming in makes no logical sense at all. There is a gap that needs to be filled. The only way to fill it is to do one of two things: increase the numbers in St. Angela's College or have another college put on the same course. Will the Leader of the House raise this very important issue and report back to us on it?