Dept to investigate hiring of retired teachers as subs

The Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has ordered his department to carry out an investigation to see which schools are flouting the rules and still hiring retired primary teachers as substitutes.

The move comes after a Freedom of Information request from the Irish Independent last October revealed that 237 retired teachers had been employed as subs in some of the country's 3,200 primary schools.

Around 1,800 new primary teachers graduate each year.

The Education Minister has demanded that school principals only use retirees when they cannot find an unemployed graduate to substitute for a teacher on sick or maternity leave.