Loss of 50 teachers ‘a threat to viability’ of Gaelscoils
The national recovery plan revealed last month that favourable staffing levels for Gaelscoils, particularly smaller ones, would be ended. But details outlined after Tuesday’s budget show that the number of additional teaching posts to be lost is 50, significantly more than had been expected.
Many of the schools will lose two teachers and Gaelscoileanna, which represents all-Irish schools outside the Gaeltacht, said it will put Irish language schools under serious threat. The extra teaching posts apply to Gaelscoils with between 76 and 257 pupils, meaning, for example, that a Gaelscoil needs 153 children to appoint a sixth teacher but an ordinary primary school needs 173. Almost 150 primary schools outside the Gaeltacht teach entirely through Irish, and the number of pupils attending them has grown by over 10,000 to more than 31,000 in a decade.
