A Clare teachers’ representative is pleading with the Department of Education to provide young teachers with better job security to weaken the lure of going abroad.
A new survey has found at least 951 teaching posts in primary and special schools are vacant at present, with the number expected to treble in the months to come.
It’s a problem that’s been acutely felt in Dublin and other urban areas in Ireland for quite some time, but it’s now rearing its head with a vengeance in rural Ireland.
New research by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, carried out in partnership with the Catholic Primary School Managers Assocation and the Irish Primary Principals’ Network, has shone a light on the scale of the teacher shortage crisis in Ireland.
The study shows that 745 unqualified teachers have been brought in to fill vacant teaching posts in the first five weeks of the school year.
That’s because 951 posts remain unfilled nationwide, 195 of which are permanent, with 756 being long-term temporary or substitute posts.
In Clare, there are at least eight vacant teaching postitions, five of which are in secondary schools, with the remaining three in primary schools.
One of the main reasons for the shortage is the prospect of better conditions for teachers abroad, and Clare INTO Representative Brendan Horan says young teachers must have a stronger guarantee of a permanent position to keep them here.
The problem is only expected to get worse between now and January, with a further 1,816 vacancies forecast by early 2025, which would bring the overall shortage to 2,767 teachers.
To compound the problem, it’s predicted almost 400 teachers will retire or resign by the beginning of next year.
Principal of Mary Immaculate Secondary in Lisdoonvarna, Mona Hynes, says the State needs to do more to allow teachers who genuinely want to remain in Ireland to do so.
You can listen to the full interview here