Tackling teacher shortages in our schools must be a top priority for the new Minister for Education, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins.
Deputy Cummins, who was announced today as the party’s new education spokesperson, said:
“Secondary schools around the country are continuing to grapple with serious teacher recruitment and retention challenges.
“A recent survey carried out by the Principals’ and Deputy Principals’ Association of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland paints a deeply worrying picture of our education system.
“A particularly concerning finding was that 75 per cent of schools with teacher vacancies received no applications after they advertised the positions.
“In addition, the survey found that 40 per cent of schools had to limit students’ access to particular subjects because of a shortage of teachers in these areas, with maths, Irish and French the most difficult posts to fill.
“We will continue to lose talented teacher graduates to other countries if the government does not take urgent steps to address some of the issues underpinning this crisis.
“We need to incentivise people to take up teaching as a career, which means removing the financial and academic barriers they face while studying. There is also more that could be done to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to enter the profession.
“Precarious employment is another issue impacting teacher recruitment and retention. Teachers must be offered permanent, full-time jobs upon their initial appointment, as well as the prospect of career progression.
“Recruitment issues will also persist if the underlying causes of the housing crisis are not addressed by the government, with many teachers unable to afford to live in urban areas.
“If allowed to continue unchecked, the situation facing our schools will only get worse. The new Education Minister Helen McEntee must hit the ground running on this issue and not sleepwalk through the teacher recruitment crisis the way her predecessor did.”
January 30, 2025