A union head has cautioned that new incentives, such as housing in important pressure zones, are required to entice teachers to return to the workforce in Ireland.
The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland's general secretary, Kieran Christie, suggested that steps including creating permanent positions, reducing bureaucracy, and reducing the amount of time needed to become a teacher were necessary.
His remarks follow a consultation conference on Wednesday where the topic of teacher shortages was covered by the three major teaching unions.
The Irish National Teachers' Organisation demanded the creation of an urgent taskforce to provide teachers after the conference.
Mr. Christie claimed during an appearance on RTÉ's Morning Ireland that the teacher certification process in Ireland was overly drawn out and that "you could become a rocket scientist faster."
It is "unsustainable" to expect critical personnel to travel up to 70 kilometres to work, he said, adding that accommodations for key workers like doctors, nurses, and teachers should also be taken into consideration. There will be a sacrifice.
At a meeting this week, Mr. Christie expressed dismay over the "stale plans" put forth by Department of Education officials. He claimed that the Minister lacked "ambition."
He claimed that nine out of ten administrators were experiencing issues with recruitment, and as a result, some schools were discontinuing topics. He questioned why educators were employed abroad and how they may be "enticed" to return to Ireland.
He claimed that the issue of unequal pay had "somewhat" been resolved, but that permanent positions were still required because no one would return to a part-time position. He added that the system for internal promotions needed to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Teachers had to go through "an awful lot of red tape" to re-register with the Teachers Council, according to Mr. Christie. There were foreign professors who could really help, but they had to wait "months and months" to get through the bureaucracy.
He argued that the two-year Masters in Education programme should be shortened to one year since it was a "luxury" the nation could not afford. It required six years of education in addition to a four-year undergraduate degree, which was almost as long as it took to become a doctor.
"Government officials need to handle this. A multifaceted approach is required.
