30 retired inspectors not replaced

Almost 30 school inspectors who have retired in the last four years have not been replaced.

The Department of Education inspectorate mostly conducts routine and unannounced visits to the country’s 4,000 primary and second-level schools. It also advises Education Minister Ruairi Quinn on policy, conducts research and helps schools improve on weaknesses.

The number of inspectors fell from 155 in 2008, the year before the public service recruitment ban took effect, to 127 at the end of last year. Between Jan 1 and Feb 29, another 10 left under the voluntary early retirement scheme in the public service.