Over 500 retired teachers employed last year

A shortage of teachers with the right subjects or difficulties for unemployed people getting to rural locations are among the reasons given by schools for continuing to give substitution work to hundreds of retired teachers.

Although the numbers are falling, more than 500 retired teachers were employed in the last school year.

The Department of Education has written to 147 schools about compliance with rules introduced four years ago to prioritise unemployed qualified teachers for all vacancies. The May 2011 circular restricted the circumstances in which schools can hire unqualified or retired teachers.