Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation Dail Éireann — 2023-11-15 ============================================================ Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Dublin Central Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the 800 vacant posts across primary schools. Today, the TUI has sounded a warning in regard to the recruitment and retention of teachers in secondary schools across the State. The union's survey shows that 89% of schools experienced recruitment problems in the past six months, 61% of schools are having difficulty holding on to staff and students are being forced to drop subjects as a result. The cuts imposed during the austerity era are now compounded by the housing and cost of living crises, in particular the housing crisis. Teachers cannot afford to rent or buy a home close to where they work. Many are responding to this reality by opting to work overseas, but we need them in our education system. I asked the Taoiseach about primary school teachers last week. This week, I am asking about secondary school teachers. What will the Government do that is different and additional to address the housing needs of these teachers? --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-11-15/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:52:24+00:00 Sitting date: 2023-11-15