Paul Murphy: Nearly 1,000 Teacher Vacancies, Calls for Action
Paul Murphy warned that a survey reported close to a thousand teaching positions in primary and special schools are vacant and criticised Fianna Gael's record on the issue. He linked the vacancies to the housing crisis and teacher emigration and called for higher pay, pay equality, permanent contracts, a Dublin cost of living allowance and abolition of master's (PME) fees.
Vacancies and classroom impact
Paul Murphy said the vacancies mean tens of thousands of children are being taught for extended periods by unqualified teachers, with the situation especially acute in disadvantaged areas of Dublin, including Dublin South West.
Causes identified
He argued the housing crisis is forcing teachers out of the capital and into emigration, citing teachers moving to places like Dubai to save for a deposit as an example of the pressure on the profession.
Policy demands from Paul Murphy
He pressed for concrete measures ahead of the election: higher wages for all teachers, pay equality, permanent positions as the standard for young teachers, a Dublin cost of living allowance and the abolition of master's (PME) fees, calling the recent small cut insufficient.
Government reply in the debate
The minister replied that there are more teachers than ever and that pupil-teacher ratios in primary schools are at their lowest level, while acknowledging housing and its cost and availability are contributory factors. The minister said he has an open mind on a Dublin allowance, highlighted a Dublin city centre task force report proposing housing for key workers including teachers and nurses, and noted that higher wages are being delivered through the public service pay agreement and that PME fee reductions could go further.
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A survey reported yesterday that close to a thousand teaching positions in primary and special schools are vacant. The impact on students is obviously huge. You have tens of thousands of kids being taught for extended periods of time by unqualified teachers. The situation is particularly bad for schools in disadvantaged areas of Dublin, including in Dublin South West. The housing crisis is so out of control that teachers simply cannot afford to live in our capital. They are emigrating to places like Dubai to work for a number of years in order to save for a deposit. Your party has had 11 years to fix this. I think we are at 5,000 days of Fianna Gael continuously in power in a couple of weeks' time, but instead the crisis has gotten worse and worse and worse under your watch. Will you tell people where you stand on this issue ahead of the election? Do you support higher wages for all teachers? Do you support pay equality and permanent positions as standard for young teachers? And do you support a Dublin cost of living allowance? Will you also abolish master's fees for secondary students? They are a real obstacle, a barrier to training new teachers, and the small cut in fees that has been agreed is nowhere near enough. To Deputy Murphy and the issue of vacant teaching posts, I suppose I would point out that there are more teachers than ever before, working in the public education system, of course the population has grown, that is also true, and pupil-teacher ratios in our primary schools are at the lowest level that we have ever seen. But yes, there are a number of issues, and the cost and availability of housing is certainly a contributory factor. You asked about the Dublin allowance, being very honest, I have an open mind on it, but I live in County Wicklow, and I use that as an example. If you have a Dublin allowance, what does that do for a school in Cadare or me, either Wicklow, I'm using that as an example, trying to actually attract a teacher. How those begin and end is an interesting question. The Dublin city centre task force report that we launched yesterday comes at it a different way. It suggests developing a significant amount of housing in our Dublin city centre and making that available for key workers, including teachers and nurses. That may be a different way of achieving roughly the same results. Yes, I favour higher wages for teachers, that is what we are delivering through our public service pay agreement. There has been a reduction, as you say, in the PME fees. I would like to see that go further in the time ahead.
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