Teaching unions slam Ireland's 'shameful' underinvestment in schools

Teachers' unions have called on the Government to increase investment in education in next month's budget. File picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

Ireland has come in last place in terms of the proportion of our GDP invested in education in a new OECD report, highlighting what unions say is a “shameful level of underinvestment” in schools here.

Ireland came in 34th place in this metric when compared with other Western countries. It was also found real salaries for teachers in Ireland have decreased by 6% between 2015 and 2023 when inflation is taken into account.

The OECD report found Ireland spends 2.9% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on educational institutions at primary to tertiary levels, compared to an OECD average of 4.9%.

The share of GDP spend has remained broadly stable on average since 2015 across the OECD, but Ireland is one where the amount spent has reduced, from 3.6% to 2.9%.

However, when taken in terms of public spending rather than GDP, Ireland is actually above the OECD average at 11.7% of public spending, compared to an average of 10%. 

This may be indicative of Ireland’s GDP figures being distorted by multinationals making huge profits.

Giving the figures in dollars, the average expenditure per student from primary to tertiary education in Ireland is $13,059. The average spend across the OECD was $14.

Teacher salaries

In terms of teacher salaries, while they had nominally increased by 16% since 2015, this was eaten up by inflation, with real incomes falling by 6%.

Unions representing teachers reacted with dismay to the OECD report, as it urged the Government to take action to address the shortcomings highlighted.

Teachers Union of Ireland president David Waters described the figures as a “wake-up call” ahead of next month’s budget.

“The report shows that at second level, starting salaries of Irish teachers are below the OECD average,” Mr Waters said.

“Even then, it must be borne in mind that these salaries are based on an assumption that Irish teachers commence on ‘full’ jobs, which regrettably is not the case at second-level.” 

Meanwhile, ASTI general secretary Kieran Christie said it was “shameful” to see Ireland “languishing” in terms of its investment in education.

“The Government must commit to closing this investment gap between Ireland and the rest of the world in Budget 2025,” he said.

“Modern curricula require that a significant amount of practical, scientific and experiential work occurs in classrooms every day. This is not sustainable in overcrowded classes and under-resourced schools.” 

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INTO general secretary John Boyle said the report emphasised the need for the Government to take action in next month’s budget.

“Primary schools are operating under severe financial constraints, struggling to cover basic running costs,” he said. 

“The Government’s continued underfunding not only places undue pressure on schools but also compromises the quality of education for our children.”