Moves besides permanent contracts essential to addressing staff shortages, TUI delegates told
The move by Government to cut the amount of time new teachers must work before securing permanent contracts is welcome, but other measures are required to address the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in secondary education, delegates at the
Teachers Union of Ireland
conference in Wexford were told on Tuesday.
General secretary Michael Gillespie said widespread staff shortages were being fuelled by the difficulties being experienced attracting young teachers in the face of competition from overseas but also by resignations and early retirements, many of which, he said, are being prompted by the stress of the work.
'This is a crisis of the Government's own making,' Mr Gillespie told delegates. 'It is the inevitable result of repeated decisions to force the education system to do more with fewer resources.'
He said schools need to be better resourced in order to attract new teachers and offer them clear career pathways, while specific measures are required, he said, to appeal to the large numbers of young teachers working in places such as Dubai and Australia, 'starting with recognition of teaching service overseas'.
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'We welcome the recent decision to allow teachers to gain permanent contracts one year earlier,' he said, describing it as 'a positive move'. However, he added, 'it is not enough'.
The move on permanent contracts was something the union had been pushing for, although it wants permanent jobs offered from day one, he added.
The Government now needs to act on other suggestions, including a reduction in the Professional Master of Education course from two years to one, and the restoration of abolished allowances for teachers working in special education, through Irish or on the islands, Mr Gillespie said.
While recruitment needs to be a greater priority, he insisted, there is also a growing problem with retention, as a growing number of teachers resign or take early retirement due to the growing levels of work-related stress.
Excessive workload and work intensification are 'breaking' the teaching profession, he said.
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'Across every sector of education, our members repeatedly raise the alarm: there is an ever-increasing workload and never enough time,' he said. The 'spiral is unsustainable. It is becoming a serious health and wellbeing crisis. Burnout is real and impacting our profession.'
Research carried out by DCU found 85 per cent of teachers experienced high levels of work-related burnout, while half that many, 42 per cent, said they are likely to leave the profession early because of the issue.
He said teachers were struggling with the same wider social issues as those working in every other sector of the economy, but were also having to cope with 'change overload' caused by emerging technologies, curriculum overload and endless new initiatives. 'And we are doing all this with the largest class sizes in Europe.'
Addressing the conference later on Tuesday, Minister for Further and Higher Education
James Lawless
said
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT)
and the
Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT)
had not been forgotten about by Government despite the two institutes not yet becoming part of a larger third-level establishment.
The Department of Further and Higher Education, he said, 'will continue to support the provision of significant financial and expert guidance to DkIT and IADT as they pursue their strategic plans in the coming years.
'However, it is not the role of any Minister to direct an institution to follow a particular path.'

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Irish Examiner
33 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Letters to the Editor: Department must respect decisions from ASTI
As a post-primary teacher, I am writing to express my concern regarding the accelerated timeline of the senior cycle redevelopment programme. I strongly urge education minister Helen McEntee to pause this acceleration and not to penalise ASTI members who have voted overwhelmingly (68% to 32%, 73% turnout) to reject the senior cycle redevelopment implementation support measures. In a separate ballot, ASTI members also voted 67% to 33% in favour of industrial action if necessary. This is a powerful signal of the profession's genuine and widespread concern. ASTI's position is based on well-researched and well-documented realities. Many schools, especially Deis and smaller rural schools, currently lack the capacity and resourcing to deliver such wide-ranging changes effectively. Teachers are being asked to take on significantly increased workload without adequate training, time, or infrastructure. The risks of insufficient authentication of additional assessment components (AACs), challenges around AI, and inequality of provision are very real and have not been sufficiently addressed. The department of education's press release outlines several measures, but these do not address the core issues raised by teachers. Moreover, the decision to accelerate this reform by a full year under Ms McEntee's predecessor has created deep mistrust. Teachers were not consulted on this change of pace, which is being imposed on a system already under strain. The current approach risks harming the very students it is meant to serve. Science, in particular, is already under-resourced in many schools, and introducing new specifications under these conditions will result in a postcode lottery of educational quality. The minister needs to: Respect the clear democratic decision of ASTI members; refrain from using the public service agreement to force through measures without consensus; and restore the original timeline to allow genuine consultation and proper preparation across all schools. The minister stated a commitment to supporting students, but sustainable reform cannot be achieved without bringing teachers along. Rushing ahead risks creating deeper divisions, damaging morale, and ultimately harming educational outcomes. I appeal to Ms McEntee to act with leadership and wisdom and pause the timeline, re-engage with teachers, and deliver a reform process that will truly serve students, teachers, and the wider system. Michael McGrath, St Augustine's College, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford Housewife column hits nail on head Jennifer Horgan's article 'Being a homemaker is hard, even harder when it's no longer valued' is an excellent and compelling piece of journalism. As a male clinician who, over the years, has heard countless women say that their roles are unappreciated, I am acutely aware of how challenging being a homemaker is. I totally get where Ms Horgan is coming from. I believe she is correct in saying: 'Irish society knowingly exploits women. We need their duties, but just can't mention them.' I do believe that, for many women, being a homemaker is thankless in that it's never-ending. It offers no salary and is a profession in which many women sacrifice just about everything in order to provide a home and upkeep for their families. With more women working outside the home, there is an increased demand for daycare and early pre-schools — which is very exacting and demanding. Fewer women today are able to stay at home and care for their children as a result of the high cost of living. However, there are some women who are still able to remain full-time homemakers — thus providing an atmosphere for their families that is seldom seen anymore. It is my contention that raising children and being a housewife is one of the hardest jobs for any one person. I find Ms Horgan's summation to be somewhat poignant and heartbreaking yet true when she says: 'As with every type of oppression women endure, we see but we don't see. Such is our way.' In response to the same, I would like to see society recognise the valuable contributions of our homemakers as their worth is essential for the wellbeing of families and communities. Homemakers provide the foundation for stable and loving homes, which are crucial for child development and overall societal wellbeing. John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Are we a nation of animal lovers? It's a peculiar fact that the first known attempt to legislate against animal cruelty anywhere in the world was here in Ireland. In 1635, a law was enacted to criminalise the practice of pulling wool off sheep (as distinct from shearing them) and the equally cruel custom of attaching ploughs to animals' tails. It has been argued that the law was motivated as much by a desire to raise revenue as by concern for the unfortunate animals, but it's still a milestone. It represented a first tentative step towards humane treatment of animals. And in the 19th century, Irish MP Richard Martin of Galway founded the world's first animal protection society, as well as campaigning against the 'sports' of bull-baiting and bear-baiting. With this remarkable record, it's all the more baffling and abhorrent that animal cruelty is so widespread in Ireland today. Abandoned horses can be found weekly, dead or dying of neglect or ill-treatment, in fields or on roadsides nationwide. An RTÉ report exposed the selling of unwanted racehorses that ended up in the EU food chain, and the merciless flogging of horses in an abattoir. Livestock raised on Irish farms are sent on long, stressful sea journeys, profit trumping any objections to their sad and lonely plight. Animal shelters are full to overflowing with dogs and cats, animals that once happily dwelt in homes, only to be ejected from the company of those they adored. We applaud when efforts are made to reintroduce a long absent species of wildlife, only to read a few weeks or months later that they've been blasted out of the sky or poisoned. Illegal poaching has worsened over the past five years, with farmers living in fear of hunters who trespass to kill wildlife. The badger, a shy nocturnal mammal, can end up being snared as part of the bovine TB eradication scheme, if it's lucky enough to have avoided the baiting gangs or the loss of habitat due to building projects. Even as State wildlife rangers struggle to contain poaching, a State licence facilitates the setting of dogs on our supposedly 'protected' native hares. Hare coursing is almost unknown outside Ireland. The countries that once permitted it have long since consigned it to oblivion, with the exception of Pakistan and Iberia. And we retain the quintessential British tradition of fox hunting, which Britain has outlawed, so that our wild dogs can still be chased to exhaustion and death for fun. Despite that promising start back in 1635, I'm afraid we can no longer consider ourselves a nation of animal lovers. To reclaim our humane status, we need to enforce existing anti-cruelty laws and end the savagery of hare coursing, fox hunting, and badger snaring. We can be a light to the world; instead of a hell on Earth for the voiceless. John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny Cork GAA must act to arrest downward spiral in football As a lifelong Cork GAA supporter, it is worrying to see the continuing downward spiral at all levels of Gaelic football. History was created recently with defeat to Kerry at U20 level for the fourth year in a row. Never before has this happened. The minor statistics are even worse. The senior team continues to flounder in Division 2 of the National Football League with little hope of promotion to Division 1. The standard of Cork club football is appalling. If we thought the late 1970s or early 1980s at inter-county level was bad, this is a new low masked by a couple of close encounters with the arch enemy, Kerry, in the last few years — not on Saturday, May 31, though. The question must be asked what if any kind of plans are in place to bring Cork football back to the top level where it should be for a county with the most football clubs in the country. Finally, let's hope the Cork senior hurlers finally reach the holy grail this year with Liam McCarthy Cup returning after a 20-year absence. Tom Harrington, Connaught Avenue, Cork


Irish Examiner
33 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork publican says staff threatened after claims nationalist rally protesters were asked to leave pub
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The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
The government is considering a scrappage scheme for electric cars
TRANSPORT MINISTER DARRAGH O'Brien has conceded that the government won't hit a target to get one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. The target was first set in 2019, but since then it has been revised downward and essentially dropped. Former Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan doubled down last year on the ambitious target and said it was still possible to get 945,000 EVs on Irish roads by 2030, but acknowledged it was 'challenging'. However, in an interview with The Journal, O'Brien has confirmed the target will not be met. 'We won't hit one million cars,' he said. 'I think the projections are still significant [and we are] probably projecting 600,000 by the end of the decade,' added O'Brien. Advertisement While EV registrations had been climbing in recent years, there was a fall-off last year. However the minister said signs in 2025 have been positive, with an increase in new registrations in the first quarter of this year. So far this year, 12,392 new electric cars have been registered, representing a 23.3% increase on the year to date in 2024, when 10,052 electric cars were registered. EV grants scheme While the minister said the current grant scheme in place for drivers to purchase an EV is 'good', he wants to 'rework' the grants scheme to make it more attractive, with the department also looking at rolling out the country's first ever EV scrappage scheme. Currently, financial supports to encourage drivers to switch to electric include grants of of up to €3,500, along with a home charger purchase grant of up to €300. There is also VRT relief of up to €5,000 for the purchase of electric cars, a Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) tax relief for electric vehicles and chargers, as well a lower rate of annual motor tax. O'Brien said he met with stakeholders from the sector recently, and they were looking for new measures that might provide certainty over a five-year period. The minister confirmed that he is exploring the potential around establishing a scrappage scheme for electric vehicles, which has never existed before in Ireland. 'I am looking at that right now. I've asked the team to work on it,' said O'Brien. Related Reads Rules for car advertising, more energy-efficient buildings: What's in the new Climate Action Plan Why the potential €26bn of 'fines' for missed climate targets aren't technically fines Five key graphs that show 2024's spiralling climate change in Ireland and worldwide Such a scheme would see motorists who convert to electric vehicles receiving cash benefits for the scrappage of petrol and diesel cars. 'I am looking at measures. I've asked the team to look at how we could maybe rework the grants – not necessarily increase the levels, but look at middle income families, look at rural areas as well,' he added. The BIK regime is also being looked at as one area where improvements can be made, the minister confirmed. Currently, an employee with an electric company vehicle will have an overall BIK relief of €45,000 in 2025 which comprises the €35,000 electric vehicle specific relief plus the additional temporary universal relief of €10,000. 'I'm trying to bring forward measures I can control myself. I think that the BIK, obviously, [the] Department of Finance has been very helpful here. I'd like to see that extended further and give that certainty to the sector. People are responding to it,' he said. He said there is a need to improve the charging infrastructure across the country, which he said has improved. Earlier this month the Department of Transport confirmed that 175 new fast recharging points are due to open at 53 locations in the coming months. The chargers are located along national roads with a view to improve access to chargers during long journeys. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal