Oct 19, 2022, Independent: School staffing crisis worsens as accommodation costs drive teachers out of Dublin https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/school-staffing-crisis-worsens-as-accommodation-costs-drive-teachers-out-of-dublin-42077842.html
Schools are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit teachers, with Dublin and other urban areas worst affected.
The shortage and cost of accommodation in the capital is being blamed for a flight of teachers to rural Ireland.
But schools around the country are also feeling the pinch, particularly when it comes to trying to find a substitute for short-term absences.
In the absence of a full complement of teachers, schools may be forced to split classes.
There is also a danger that special education teachers are redeployed from their work to take over mainstream classes.
Two months into the academic year, a grim snapshot of the struggles facing schools in the capital has emerged.
A survey by Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart in the past week attracted responses from 29 principals in his Dublin South-West constituency, of whom: Some 93pc said the inability to adequately recruit was a “serious issue”…..
It is likely that the picture is similar in other parts of the capital….
Mr Lahart will be raising the issue with Education Minister Norma Foley at the weekly meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party tonight.
He said urgent steps are needed to ensure classrooms do not go without teachers, and called for interim measures to ensure they are adequately resourced.
Mr Lahart also called for consideration to be given to a Dublin stipend, similar to an allowance paid in London, to compensate for higher accommodation costs, “which is causing younger teachers to reject the idea of working in Dublin”.
Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) chief executive Páiric Clerkin confirmed there was a serious problem with teacher supply….
Education Minister Norma Foley. Photo: Naoise Culhane