Dozens of retired teachers on paid contracts
Figures released by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn show that 153 retired teachers were paid for work in the fortnight before the Christmas holidays, 104 of them in primary schools and 49 at second level, excluding vocational schools. However, a further breakdown from the department given to the Irish Examiner shows 22 of the retirees were on paid contracts in primary schools and three in second-level schools.
The figures emerge as thousands of teachers, mostly recent graduates, seek regular work.
According to the Teaching Council, 3,365 people graduated as teachers last year. While the hiring of teachers remains an issue for schools and principals, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation said it is indefensible for retired teachers to get work for extended time periods.
“The department should immediately contact those schools to establish why they have given contracts to retired teachers in preference to newly qualified teachers without regular employment,” said INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan.
The department said last night that it is contacting schools which have re-hired retired teachers.
A spokesperson said Mr Quinn had made it clear to schools that they should prioritise unemployed and newly qualified teachers for all work, and the rate paid to retired teachers has been cut to discourage their employment.
“These measures have had a positive impact on the numbers of retired teachers being employed in schools. While still unsatisfactory, the number of retired teachers being employed in schools has dropped dramatically over the past couple of years,” said a spokesperson.
The Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) said hiring retired teachers was sometimes unavoidable because of occasional shortages of qualified teachers in particular areas. Its TextASub service, which links schools to substitutes, had just three teachers registered as available for work in Leitrim this week, four each in Cavan and Longford, and nine in Louth.
Fianna Fáil education spokesman Charlie McConalogue, who was given the figures eight months after asking for them in a Dáil question, said Mr Quinn should do more. He said there may sometimes be exceptional circumstances for hiring a retired teacher at short notice, but a requirement that schools notify the department each time they do so might make them try harder to find unemployed teachers.
