Calls to tackle teacher shortage in Dublin

Despite schools returning after mid-term, the staffing shortages at Dublin schools are still readily apparent.

Labour Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said the failure to address the issue is “inexcusable.”

Ó Ríordáin, who also serves spokesperson on education for the party, called for a “proactive approach to addressing this crisis.”

A survey published by INTO showed that there are nearly 800 vacant teaching posts nationwide and projects an additional lack of 1,200 in the future.

“Schools are being forced to plug staffing gaps with special needs assistants and unqualified staff, and this is unacceptable and will have a knock-on impact on our children’s education,” said Ó Ríordáin, who had a career in education prior to politics.

He accused Government of “sitting on their hands for far too long while this crisis has festered, and it’s time for them to take decisive action.”

Ó Ríordáin mentioned his idea of introducing a ‘Dublin Allowance’, which he said would help attract teachers to work in the capital.

“It is not a silver bullet, but it would certainly help,” he noted.

He called for Minister for Education Norma Foley to “wake up” and realise that “this crisis is not going away on its own”

Fellow opposition TD Gary Gannon also took Government to task over the findings of the report.

“With newly qualified teachers unable to afford to live in urban areas, many of them are taking up posts abroad. It is unconscionable that we should be training our teachers for export when there is a growing recruitment crisis in our schools,” Gannon said.

Gannon, who serves as the Social Democrats’ spokesperson on education, said there are “barriers” to taking up a career in teaching in Ireland, both financial and academic.

“In addition to tackling housing affordability, the Government should reduce the Professional Master of Education course from two years to one, as proposed in a Dáil motion by the Social Democrats this time last year. This would considerably ease the financial burden of studying to be a teacher and speed up the pipeline of skilled new graduates into our schools,” he said.

“Recruitment issues are leading to greater inequalities in our education system. The crisis is impacting some of our most vulnerable students as schools are often forced to redeploy special education teachers to plug staffing gaps. ”

“Instead of concentrating on proposals for a ban on mobile phones for primary school students, Minister Foley’s focus should be on prioritising the teacher recruitment crisis in our classrooms,” he remarked.