Clare Fm - Podcasts

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 substi