Latest news with #PaulCrone
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- General
- Irish Times
1,847 teaching posts vacant amid ‘supply crisis' for new school year
More than 1,800 teaching posts were left vacant this year, while many schools in the Greater Dublin Area report that they are struggling to hire qualified staff in the run-up to the new academic year. Principals say the housing crisis and cost-of-living issues mean it is difficult to find teachers in and around the capital, especially in schools located in more deprived areas . A Department of Education review of teacher payroll in March of this year found there were 1,847 vacant posts across schools. Most unfilled teacher positions were at primary level (1,228 posts) compared to second level (619). A similar review conducted in November last year found there were 1,600 vacant posts, indicating that more posts became vacant as the academic year continued. READ MORE Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputies , said many Dublin schools, as well as those in other large urban areas and some remote locations, were having difficulty finding qualified teachers in time for the new school year. He said the situation was especially acute in subjects such as home economics, physics and engineering, while 'post-primary schools nationally are finding it impossible to fill positions to replace teachers on parental leave, paternity leave and even maternity leave'. 'In many of these situations, principals are covering this leave with the teacher extension scheme, supervision and substitution, PME [professional master of education] students or unqualified teachers,' Mr Crone said. A department spokesperson said, overall, the number of unfilled teaching posts continues to be 'low' with vacancies accounting for 2.5 per cent of all 74,611 allocated posts in schools. The payroll analysis was a 'snapshot at a point in time' and schools continually recruit throughout the year, the spokesperson added. In an attempt to boost teacher supply, meanwhile, the department has extended several measures to assist schools in accessing additional teaching and substitute hours. The 'teaching hours extension scheme' allows teachers on full teaching contracts of 22 hours to provide additional substitution cover of up to 35 additional hours for each term. In addition, teachers who are job sharing will continue to be able to work as substitute teachers in any school, as long as they are off duty, while teachers who are on a career break can continue to work as substitute teachers at primary and second level. Minister for Education Helen McEntee said that while they were not long-term solutions, they will continue to support schools to access qualified teaching for the students in their schools. 'Teachers are at the heart of our schools and we are so lucky to have more teachers working in our schools than we ever have had before. However, in some areas there are teacher supply challenges and I am committed to tackling this,' she said. Other measures due to come into force include fast-tracking newly qualified teachers into secure permanent contracts and helping teachers who have trained abroad apply for registration in the State. Teacher unions, however, say a 'supply crisis' is being accentuated by the affordability of the profession for new entrants and unsustainable workloads. The department said the new public service pay deal will mean salaries for new entrants climb to €46,000 and a maximum of €85,000 per year, which it said compares well internationally. Some schools have also reported difficulties hiring principals in advance of the school year, with deputy principals obliged to 'act up' as a temporary measure. While figures for 2025 are not available, last year 160 primary principals (5 per cent of all principals) and 35 second-level principals (7.5 per cent) retired. These numbers have remained relatively steady over recent years.
The Journal
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Journal
Health minister vows to 'eradicate' nicotine pouches calling them 'particularly invidious'
WORK IS UNDERWAY to 'eradicate' nicotine pouches, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has said, calling them 'particularly invidious'. Speaking to reporters at the World Conference on Tobacco Control 2025 in the Convention Centre Dublin, she said the pouches 'have the capacity to get very high doses of nicotine to children in very subtle ways, but very, very quickly'. 'So we're working to try to eradicate them,' said the minister. Advertisement The small pouches, which users put inside their lips to obtain a hit of nicotine, fall outside the parameters of Irish laws on tobacco or vapes. Director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, Paul Crone has previously urged the HSE to issue a health advisory around the use of these small pouches, stating that students find it easier to conceal nicotine pouches than traditional tobacco products. The minister added that the government will also move to legislate to get rid of point of sale advertising of vapes and nicotine pouches. 'Essentially to make these e-cigarettes, which have already been banned for under 18s, as unattractive and as boring as possible,' she said. Speaking at the same conference yesterday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the introduction of vaping was 'the revenge of Big Tobacco' with an aim to get nicotine 'back on the agenda'. Related Reads Justine Stafford: I felt like I was sucking on a USB filled with jam. How I quit vaping... Cabinet approves ban on sale of single-use vapes and restrictions on flavours Selling e-cigarettes to under 18s will carry a €4,000 fine and possibly six months in prison He promised significant restrictions coming in next February will have a big impact. The health minister said today there is no need for a coconut or pineapple flavour in these products, stating that companies trying to make these products attractive is trying to 'normalise what is essentially an addiction to a drug'. Carroll MacNeill said that on a European level there is a need to reopen the tobacco directive, which she said will be a key objective when Ireland holds the EU presidency next year. 'The world has moved on since that was agreed and that it's not just about tobacco, it's about the other nicotine projects… But one of the issues there is where one country takes lots of steps to ban different products. It comes so easily across the border from another EU member state, so we have to take a harmonised approach on it from a public health perspective,' said the minister. 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
Irish Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Schools told they cannot spent €9m phone pouch budget on other education needs
Secondary schools have been told by the Department of Education that funding for controversial smartphone pouches and other forms of phone storage must not be used for any other education needs. A €9 million plan to provide smartphone pouches to second-level schools, announced in last October's budget, sparked controversy at the time, with Opposition parties labelling the initiative 'wasteful' and 'unnecessary'. From today, all non-fee charging second-level schools can apply for up to €25 per student to purchase secure storage solutions for mobile phones during the school day, such as pouches or lock boxes. Any unused money must be ring-fenced in school accounts to fund replacement equipment in future and may not be used for other purposes. Records of expenditure must be maintained and available for audit, if required. READ MORE Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputies , said school leaders would prefer if this level of funding was made available for more pressing educational needs. 'I'm aware that schools who have pouches are very happy with them, but a simple ban doesn't take into account the different contexts and needs for schools, and this money would be better spent elsewhere,' he said. The move is part of a wider drive to restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day and tackle concerns over student wellbeing, distraction during class time, cyberbullying and decreased social interaction at break times. [ Smartphone bans in isolation fail to equip children for healthy use of tech, say experts Opens in new window ] In updated guidance issued to schools, Minister for Education Helen McEntee has confirmed that post-primary schools must implement a policy to restrict mobile phone use during the school day. 'First and foremost, this policy is about ensuring that our schools are phone-free learning environments. Students should not be on their phones during the school day; this guidance and support will ensure all schools have the supports they need to achieve this, having regard to their own requirements,' she said. 'Having engaged with many different school communities across the country, I am confident that this policy will support student wellbeing, engagement and their interaction with their peers, while also recognising the experience and expertise of school communities and the need for consultation.' Latest research , however, indicates that banning phones in schools is not linked to pupils getting higher grades or having better mental health. Academics say a more comprehensive approach to reducing overall phone and social media use in adolescents needs to be explored, addressing both in-school and out-of-school use. Social Democrats education spokeswoman Jen Cummins said the reality for schools is that many are so cash-strapped that they are 'struggling to keep the lights on'. 'A new survey has revealed that a record number have had to apply to the department for emergency funding,' she said. 'In that context, it is completely tone deaf for the Government to insist that €9 million should go on phone storage." Ms McEntee, meanwhile, said schools, in consultation with parents, students and others, will be asked to develop their own policies on how to implement their bans on phones Schools have been told to adopt a consistent approach for the full school day, with limited exemptions allowed for medical or compassionate grounds.
Sunday World
19-05-2025
- Health
- Sunday World
New doc reveals how vaping has reached ‘epidemic' proportions in school
'We had one incident where two students' heart rates increased to the point where they became unconscious' Pupils are being found unconscious at educational establishments because of a growing vaping 'epidemic', according to a representative of a school principals' body. 'We had one incident where two students' heart rates increased to the point where they became unconscious,' reveals Paul Crone, director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD). 'Nobody knew what they had taken. Nobody knew. They were just found unconscious in the school toilets. 'Record numbers of them are taking up vaping — I would say it's at epidemic proportions.' Mr Crone is one of several people interviewed as part of Virgin Media's Vaping Nation documentary. An increasing number of Irish school children are vaping 'About two to three years ago we really started to notice the incidence of vaping was increasing hugely in schools and over a short period of time it became epidemic level in schools and it became the biggest issue that schools had to deal with,' he explains. 'When initially you saw it with the senior students, the fifth– and sixth-years, but it slowly began to creep back into the third-years and the second-years, so it became younger and younger students were involving themselves and getting involved in vaping. An increasing number of Irish school children are vaping News in 90 Seconds - May 19th 'Traditionally, we would have seen senior cycle students would have taken up smoking as they get a little bit older, but vaping became so easy and so popular, and they viewed it as part of their socialisation. 'As school leaders we thought we had beaten smoking. We had seen a significant drop in the number of students smoking — it was not popular to be smoking.' In Ireland, one in every 12 people use vapes or e-cigarettes, a figure that rises among young people. Paul Crone The Vaping Nation documentary — presented by Virgin Media reported Mairéad Carey — features other frontline voices including healthcare professionals, educators, and addiction specialists who are witnessing the impact of vaping on under-18s. Mr Crone maintains students are taking measures to disguise what they're up to. 'There is a lot of students that would hide it, and I know I've spoken to school principals who would confiscate vapes off students and they'd call the parents and the parents would deny that their child was vaping, only the evidence was there in front of them,' he says. 'So, students are hiding it from their parents, they're hiding it from their teachers. Now if a student was smoking, or an adult was smoking, you can smell it off their breath, you can smell it off their clothes. There is no smell off the vapes, or if there is it's the smell of a bubblegum or a sweet, or a perfume you'd expect to smell.' Mr Crone confirms students don't realise the impact of the habit. 'At 14, 15, 16 years of age we all thought we were invincible back then,' he reflects. 'They don't see any immediate impact. The immediate impact they can feel would be the hit that they would get that would give them a little bit of energy from the nicotine, but equally as that addiction kicks in students will start to notice irritability, anxiety, little bits of aggression keeping in, lack of concentration, students just not being focused on the task at hand and having a reduced concentration span, and that becomes much worse as students try to wean off the nicotine addiction. 'Parents might notice that at home that they're [children] not sleeping well, they're waking up tired, it's hard to get them out of bed in the morning, that they don't follow through on their actions, and we're seeing all of that in schools. 'The big fear is that they are doing themselves the damage that they're not going to reach their potential. 'But there would be a genuine belief among teachers that it is having a significant impact on students and it is contributing to potentially students underperforming in state exams.' He stresses that many experts still don't know exactly what people are inhaling. 'There is a fear that we don't know what's in the vape,' says Mr Crone. 'We assume its nicotine, or tobacco, or whatever it is, but there are increasing reports that HHC or CBD oil are in the vapers, so we have had a number of critical incidents in schools.' Professor Bobby Smyth, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with the HSE Addiction Services, says: 'If you asked me two years ago, I would have said 'what is HHC?' and at this point it's part of the picture in about a quarter of cases.' The programme also explores how the tobacco industry has responded to this relatively new trend, with critics warning of familiar marketing tactics aimed at young consumers.
