The Government is set to sanction the appointment of at least 1,500 additional teachers at primary and secondary level, under the terms of the expected national pay agreement.
The additional teaching numbers have been agreed as part of the non-pay element of the agreement, but the precise number, and the balance between primary and second level, has still to be worked out.
The new appointments, over the next 33 months, will help to reduce further the pupil-teacher ratio, now 20:1 at primary and 19:1 in secondary schools.
The appointment of the new teachers could also give a further impetus to a range of programmes, including those involving special educational needs and early childhood education. The establishment of a new agency to take charge of education for those with special needs, and support services to help in countering educational disadvantage, are also under discussion.
Both of the teachers' unions still at the talks, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and the Teachers' Union of Ireland, are pressing for additional numbers, perhaps up to 1,800. The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, which recently decided to leave the ICTU over so-called "performance-related pay", is not represented at the talks. Despite these fears, the proposed national agreement includes no reference to any UK-style performance-related pay for teachers. Instead, it makes the relatively mild proposal that schools should be more involved in planning.
The recruitment of 1,500 teachers will be in addition to the increase announced by the former education minister, Mr Michael Martin, last year. In December Mr Martin signalled his intention to appoint 800 post-primary and 200 primary teachers at a total cost of £20 million.
The INTO believes that a clear majority of the new posts should now be allocated to the primary sector. The current shortage of trained primary teachers is regarded as a temporary phenomenon. In recent years, the number of teachers retiring from the profession has outstripped the number graduating from the teacher training colleges.
The INTO general secretary, Senator Joe O'Toole, is also seeking a number of other concessions. These include the early implementation of the findings of the review group on the role of school principals, which would provide greatly increased back-up for school management.
