Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. The shortfall in teacher supply has reached a crunch point at both primary and post-primary level. Too many teachers are on insecure or temporary contracts and are underemployed. These temporary contracts mean they are not paid over the summer and must take their chances on getting a permanent position or another temporary contract in September.

The issue of contracts is only part of the problem. The cost of living crisis means many teachers, in particular lower paid younger teachers, cannot afford the cost of rent in many areas. They have even less prospect of being able to secure and manage a mortgage. One very simple thing the Department can do to address the shortage of teachers is to release more positions. This will allow teachers who work on a part-time basis to work full-time and teachers who are not on permanent contracts to be given one.

I urge the Minister to consider all of the teachers who work abroad, including in Britain and the Middle East, many of whom have spoken about their wish to return home but the seemingly arbitrary barriers they face prevent them from doing so. In particular, they have spoken of the requirement for teachers who have trained in Britain to complete their induction in Britain. This requirement was waived during the Covid-19 pandemic and I call on the Department to consider doing something similar in the current crisis.

Teachers have also spoken of the uncertainty they face on returning home. The current cut-off for permanent contracts in October and November means that many teachers who return home outside of these dates must take up temporary contracts, with no guarantee of a permanent position and no summer pay. I call on the Government to remove the October and November cut-offs permanently in order that teachers returning to Ireland can get full-time contracts and some security to keep them here.

The impact of these measures on teacher numbers would, in our view, be immeasurable. However, we must not address just the immediate shortage but also the underlying issues that have led to it. I ask the Minister to listen to the INTO's proposals for an emergency task force to examine the matter and determine what steps can be taken.

Unfortunately, the crisis in our education system has now reached the point where parents the country over are worried about their children not having a place in secondary school. A number of students in Limerick received no offer of a second level school place. These issues were foreseeable. The Department has known for years that a surge in population meant more school places would be needed. We know how many children are in post primary, in particular, the there is no excuse for this situation which should have been anticipated and prevented. The Department and Minister had access to the data, budget and power to intervene and resolve this before researched this point.

There are almost 1 million children in our 4,000 schools. There is easily enough capacity to accommodate all children, provided we plan early. We need urgent action to ensure these school places are secured as soon as possible so that families, children and teachers get as much clarity as possible without further delay, but to achieve that we need early forecasting.

I have a couple of questions. If all of our schools were mixed, we might not face problems with places. This issue also inflates gender stereotypes.There is also an issue that 25% of our school places are reserved for children and grandchildren of past pupils, which is outrageous. It is highly unusual that we separate boys and girls. We are an outlier around the world on that issue and it should end as soon as possible.

I will leave it there. I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I may not be able to stay if there are more speakers and I apologise for that.