The National Education Debate was live streamed on Tuesday, 19 November at 4.30pm.
As Ireland stands at a pivotal moment in its educational journey, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation presents our General Election Manifesto, a detailed assessment of 30 critical areas of investment needed from government by 2030.
Our goal is clear: to build the best primary and special education system in the world. This ambition is not just a lofty ideal—it is a necessity. A world-class education system is the bedrock of a thriving society, and it is the duty of any incoming Irish government to ensure that our children and young people receive the best possible start in life.
We call on the incoming government to match our ambition with action. The time for incremental steps has passed; what is required now is a momentous strategy that addresses the needs of every child, in every classroom, across the country.
By committing to this vision, we can ensure that Ireland not only meets the challenges of the future but leads the way in educational excellence. Together, we can make Ireland a beacon of educational success, where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential. This is our pledge, and this is our call to action. The future of our nation depends on the choices we make today—let’s choose to be ambitious, let’s choose to invest, and let’s choose to make Ireland’s education system the best in the world by 2030.
What must the next Government do?
Solve Teacher Supply
2. Provide incentives to retain teachers here and improve the incremental credit scheme to bring teachers home to Ireland.
Reduce Class Sizes
4. Train additional primary teachers to achieve target class sizes and to ensure all teaching positions can be filled.
Support Teaching Workforce
6. Provide enhanced flexible working arrangements, including access to reproductive health leave, surrogacy leave, improved child and family care schemes and support for teacher wellbeing.
7. Provide substitute cover for all approved teacher absences with particular provision for special schools and special classes.
Strengthen School Leadership
9. Provide quality professional development programmes and leadership training for senior and middle leadership roles and for aspiring school leaders.
10. Increase administrative, technical and maintenance support including direct payment of school caretakers to reduce bureaucratic and management burdens on principals.
11. Enhance salaries and provide greater incentives for school leaders, including equalising allowances between leaders of primary and post-primary schools, reducing the appointment figures for administrative principals and administrative deputy principals to 150 and 400 pupils respectively and paying school leaders allowances based on all of the staff they manage.
Augment Special Education
13. Roll out top-quality training programmes for all who teach children with additional needs including a doubling of the number of places on Special Education Diploma Courses.
14. Invest in special education resources and facilities and enhance salaries and professional supports for teachers in these settings.
15. Roll out in-school therapeutic, counselling and psychological supports with front-line disability services being provided locally at school level.
Expand School Funding
17. Increase investment in school infrastructure for retrofitting and modernising existing buildings and for new builds/school extensions and substantially increase the minor works grant.
18. Make annual grants available for curriculum resources as the redeveloped primary curriculum rolls out and provide for the allocation of ICT resources and digital learning tools beyond 2027.
Control Change Management
20. Pace new initiatives to ensure existing ones are fully integrated.
Protect Small Schools
Target DEIS Support
23. Make targeted interventions for students at risk of educational disadvantage and augment community and parental engagement initiatives including expansion of the teacherled home school liaison scheme (HSCL).
Diversify Education System
25. Bolster efforts to make schools inclusive places to work including developing mentorship programmes for under-represented groups in teaching and providing protections from all forms of violence and harassment.
26. Re-energise efforts to ensure diversity of patronage in primary schools.
Transform the Department’s Communications
28. Ensure communication of policies and initiatives transparently and in a timely manner