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Why are Irish secondary schools suffering from a shortage of teachers?

IT Sunday: David McWilliams writes that Ireland’s commercial property market is on brink of collapse, while Pat Leahy looks at just what it costs to run Ireland

Teacher Richie Bell in Coláiste Muire Máthair, formerly St.Mary's College, at St. Mary's Road in Galway city. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy

Sun Oct 8 2023 - 08:11

Welcome to this week’s IT Sunday, a selection of the best Irish Times journalism for our subscribers.

‘Teacher shortages’ is a term that has become increasingly common in the last number of years both in the media, within Government and in general public discourse. But just why is a career that is often labelled a “soft number” with a nice pension and endless holidays seemingly becoming less attractive for people in Ireland?

While the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) points to housing difficulties, workloads and underfunding – a 2022 OECD report for Education at a Glance placed Ireland 36th out of 36 countries for investment in secondary-level education – the Government says the opposite, pointing out that funding for the education sector has climbed to a record high and that GDP is a poor indicator of spending. So what do teachers really think?

This week Keith Duggan spoke to a number of teachers in different areas of the country to get a sense of how the shortages are being felt in the staff room and what can be done to address them.

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In one of our most read stories from the week, Ronan McGreevy reported that former pupils of St Conleth’s College in Ballsbridge, Dublin have called for an apology from the school’s board of management for employing a former Nazi who physically assaulted them.

“Louis Feutren, a Breton nationalist and SS officer, was sentenced to death in France after the second World War. He had been a member of Bezen Perrot, a Breton nationalist group that rounded up Jews and French Resistance fighters for the Nazis. He fled to Ireland in 1945 and taught French in the school from 1957 to 1985,” he writes.

Meanwhile, in his column this weekend, David McWilliams writes that Ireland’s commercial property market is on the cusp of monumental collapse.

“Dublin had huge oversupply, and more is coming on stream. Look at the amount of cranes in the sky! We have among the highest vacancy rates in Europe, which means lower incomes accruing to the landlords, which affects their ability to pay back their borrowings,” he writes.

With Tuesday’s budget announcement now almost upon us, Fintan O’Toole writes that we will be blinded by numbers, but there is one we should really be thinking about: €20 billion. “It’s roughly what the long-term effects of letting children grow up in poverty cost Ireland every year,” he writes.

“The current €20 billion hit to our economy is a result of decisions taken or not taken when today’s working-age adults were children. In proportional terms, it’s about equal to the annual loss to the UK economy from Brexit. If one of these is a crazy act of self-harm, so is the other one.”

For more on Tuesday’s budget announcement you can follow all of our coverage on our budget site. Meanwhile, Pat Leahy looks this weekend at how much it really costs to run Ireland with your guide to the budget ‘millins and billins’, while Jude Webber of the Financial Times assesses the state of Ireland’s economy, writing that it is a country “booming with creaking infrastructure”.

Last night Ireland beat Scotland 36-14 to finish top of Pool B at the Rugby World Cup, setting up a quarter-final clash with New Zealand. It was a clinical performance from Andy Farrell’s side which saw the match put to bed before half-time, writes Gerry Thornley from Paris.

Elsewhere, John O’Sullivan was on the player ratings, with Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki among those receiving highest marks, while Johnny Watterson writes that Ireland’s much improved lineout is a hugely positive sign going forward.

Meanwhile, Seán Moncrieff writes in his column this week that if Ireland win the Rugby World Cup, you’ll see men in absolute floods.

“My generation of men had the tears bred out of us, but crying in response to sport has bypassed the intergenerational male conditioning,” he writes.

For her restaurant review this week, Corinna Hardgrave took a trip to Peperina City Bistro in Portobello, Dublin 8 for Argentinean food that “sings with flavour” and all for a reasonable price.

“Peperina is that elusive combination of a menu with broad appeal, tasty food, affordable pricing and great service. It is a place that is perfect for groups, particularly those who appreciate a good steak,” she writes.

In this week’s advice columns, Trish Murphy responded to a reader who says they have met “a wonderful man, but he feels guilty about moving on from his wife’s death a number of years ago.” Meanwhile, a reader writes to Roe McDermott looking for advice on her boyfriend who “was cheated on in the past and is terrified I’ll cheat, too.”

In this week’s On the Money newsletter, Dominic Coyle looks at whether health insurance for children is worth the cost or if it’s a waste of money. Sign up here to receive the newsletter straight to your inbox every Friday.

As always, there is much more on irishtimes.com, including rundowns of all the latest movies in our film reviews, tips for the best restaurants in our food section and all the latest in sport. There are plenty more articles exclusively available for Irish Times subscribers here.

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