25th January 2018
The Dáil has passed a motion accepting that a crisis exists whereby the demand for substitute teachers vastly exceeds supply and that pay inequality has contributed to this.
The motion criticises the Minister for Education and Skills for being slow to address this issue.
It calls on the government to agree a roadmap with teaching unions on how full pay equality will be achieved and to establish substitute supply panels again at primary level.
It has also called on the Minister to further expand, on a temporary basis, the opportunity for teachers on career break to act as substitutes.
The INTO has welcomed this development saying there was unequivocal evidence of a substitute shortage at primary level which is directly related to pay inequality.
Pictured are INTO members Michael McConigley, Sine Friel and Aoife Mullen with John Boyle INTO president outside the Dáil yesterday while the motion was being debated