The Minister for Education has not ruled out introducing an allowance for teachers in Dublin to help resolve the national shortage of teachers.
Norma Foley said she is prepared to “look at everything on the table”, as many schools struggle to secure enough staff for the academic year.
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) has called on the Government to hold an emergency meeting of stakeholders to develop “immediate and short-term solutions” to help principals recruit teachers.
The INTO said that a lot of schools, particularly in Dublin, have not been able to hire enough staff ahead of the new school year.
A lack of housing and high rents are being cited among the issues for recruitment issues in the city.
Asked whether the Government would consider bringing in a city allowance for teachers, Ms Foley said: “We’re looking at all of the levers that are available to us, and we will look at more as time goes on.
“I’m prepared to look at everything being put on the table.
“I want to acknowledge that geographically there can be challenges, and the government is conscious of that, not just within the education sector, but I think, across all sectors.
“For that reason, we’re seeing measures in terms of cost of living measures being introduced, in terms of the rental breaks that have been introduced, and I’ve absolutely no doubt that further consideration will be given across government in terms of those cost of living measures that can be introduced by the budget.”
Speaking in Stoneybatter on Wednesday, the Fianna Fáil minister said there are 74,000 teachers in the system, the highest on record.
“But I don’t underestimate that there are challenges, and I don’t underestimate the difficulties that that poses for school principals or boards of management or whatever,” she added.
“We are engaging on an ongoing basis with all of the stakeholders in education.
“We’ve introduced a variety of different measures, and we’ve introduced more.
“We have introduced the bursary of 2,000 euro for those who are doing the masters in education, and we’ve increased the number of places, a 20% increase in the places provided for teachers who are training in the area of education.
“We have retired teachers who are making themselves available.
“We have free upskilling course for particular subject areas where there are challenges, whether it’s in maths or the sciences or whatever.”
However, INTO said the “severe crisis” is threatening the future of primary and special education.
The organisation said it has reached a “critical level ” and accused the Government of failing to adequately plan for teacher supply.
It said that an increasing number of teachers have left Ireland for work overseas, while many others are being forced to take leave due to the lack of affordable childcare.
The INTO also said that the loss of these teachers will only “worsen the situation” as the academic year progresses.
INTO general secretary John Boyle said: “It is frustrating that 323 days have passed since the government adopted one INTO recommendation, promising a fee rebate for teachers who completed the Professional Master of Education course.
“Yet, the Department of Education has failed to release a circular outlining the details of the 2,000 euro PME incentive scheme, leaving hundreds of postgraduate teaching entrants in the dark.
“This delay and lack of urgency are unacceptable, highlighting the Department’s failure to address the recruitment and retention crisis.”
