Aideen Clarke, a business instructor at Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School in Dublin’s southern county, typically starts her days quite early. Her weekday routine includes a 5am alarm, and her departure from her residence in Portlaoise by 6.15am. Under normal circumstances, her commute to work is roughly eighty minutes, but that can extend if there are road incidents.
A slightly heavier traffic can make her journey over an hour and a half each way, leaving her drained by the end of the week. Clarke mentioned that she usually arrives home after 5pm, requiring her to be in bed by 9.30pm to maintain her schedule. She considered travelling by public transport but realised she would still need to set off at 5am to make it to school by 8.30am.
Living in Dublin is too costly for her, she admits, so she found a spot along the M7 route, where she could commute to south Dublin, but also return to her home county of Limerick to visit friends and family. Clarke highlights that unlike many people who have the flexibility to work remotely, teachers must be physically present in the classroom, but affordable living areas are often not in close proximity.
According to an anonymous senior official from the teachers’ union, more and more members in urban areas with high rents and property prices are seen resorting to residing in regions where living costs are lower, even if this means spending hours commuting daily. They noted an increase in the number of members teaching in the Republic yet residing in the North, for instance. The official stated that for many, this seemed to be the only feasible option, as noted in the members’ residential addresses during a recent public sector pay vote.
There is a pronounced lack of teaching professionals in many parts of the nation, particularly in city areas. A significant number of novice teachers are opting to relocate overseas, lured by improved compensation, workplace conditions and most notably, superior housing opportunities. Due to this deficiency, secondary schools have had to eliminate subjects in certain instances, while primary schools have difficulty securing replacements for teachers on leave.
In the period leading up to the national teachers’ conferences, union branches nationwide have been substantially focusing on these problems.
A new and promising pay agreement seems to be emerging recently, which could give teachers a pay rise of approximately 10-11 per cent. Importantly, a fresh local negotiation fund is set to invest between €175-200 million to reverse cuts implemented during the financial downturn, with unions having a major input in the allocation of these funds.
These two recent developments potentially indicate a slight uplift in optimism – the first since possibly 2006. The likelihood of the Education Minister being interrupted by a delegate’s loudspeaker during their address, as what had happened with Ruairí Quinn in 2014, seems to be decreasing.
But will this heightened funding genuinely correct the recruitment and retention predicament, or is it just a superficial solution?
Delegates of the Irish National Teachers’ organisation (INTO) conference last year urged their union leadership to consider a weighted allowance for Dublin-based teachers, due to higher cost of living. However, this proposition failed to garner support from the other 18 members of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
On the other hand, Geraldine O’Brien, president of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, is not in favour of a weighted allowance for Dublin teachers, but she is receptive to reserving a quantity of housing for key staff, which includes educators.
Similarly, Michael Gillespie, TUI General Secretary, advocates for a large investment in public transportation to enable more employees to reside out of the city and travel to work.
Clarke, who is a single person reliant on a state salary, currently sees no prospects of owning a home.
A professional educator by the name of Aideen Clarke experienced turbulent living conditions as her previous rental accommodation was put up for sale soon after she moved in, hinting at an imminent risk of homelessness despite having government-mandated level nine qualifications. Ms. Clarke hones her powerlifting skills in her scarce free time and is ardent about professional growth, presently undertaking a postgraduate course for teaching mathematics.
However, the days when allowances would encourage teachers to advance their skills by taking doctoral or postgraduate qualifications vanished at the time of Ireland’s banking crisis and International Monetary Fund intervention. Clarke points out that unless educators are pursuing specialist secondary education degrees, they are obligated to invest three to four years at university and take on an education-based postgraduate master’s program for another two years, all self-funded.
To add to the strains, job security or decent paying jobs are elusive despite years of academic investment. Full-time job prospects are scant, and most teaching jobs on offer typically schedule less than a day’s work per week, with the contracts beholden to schools rather than educators. The absence of stable jobs makes it tough for teachers to secure financial loans. Clarke managed to attain a degree of financial stability only in the past three years.
With the nullification of mid-level managerial posts within schools, administrative duties have inundated principals. Clarke acknowledges the importance of these roles to efficiently manage school functions, emphasizing the need for adequate resourcing. She and many other teachers are optimistic about the potential reinstatement of these roles through local bargaining funds – not only relieving the strain on senior management but fostering potential growth routes within the teaching profession.
One of the significant topics likely to be debated at the forthcoming teachers’ union conferences is the persistent challenge of teacher recruitment and retention. Advocates are pushing for impactful measures to alleviate the financial pressure on teachers.
John Boyle, the INTO’s general secretary, noted that their conference would feature discussions from special education professionals. He emphasized the issue of schools resorting to special education staff to cover routine teacher absences, which subsequently compromises the education of vulnerable students. Similarly, discussions at the ASTI conference will echo concerns about compensating student teachers due to teacher shortages.
Lamenting the persisting problem of large class sizes, aged technological resources and enduring austerity sentiments, Michael Gillespie, Secretary General of the Teachers Union of Ireland, urged for change. The INTO conference will consider the continuation of efforts spearheaded by Norma Foley, Education Minister, to streamline primary level class sizes.
Despite boasting the smallest ever recorded pupil-teacher ratios, it is still far from the average ratio across Europe. Geraldine O’Brien, ASTI president, echoed these concerns, particularly regarding potential imbalances in opportunity arising from the proposed 40 per cent project-based requirement for Leaving Certificate coursework.
Michael Gillespie, Secretary General of the TUI, conveyed concerns over how both artificial intelligence and pay disparity within technological universities could disrupt senior cycle reform. He stressed the utmost importance of ensuring equal treatment for all TUI members within such institutions.