An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2020-09-30
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Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel

The annual primary school census is due today, 30 September. It will determine the staffing levels in our primary schools for the academic year 2021-22. There is a serious risk that some schools may lose a teacher this year because a number of children have yet to return to school owing to health concerns associated with Covid-19. Some pupils may live in a home in which there is an at-risk family member and, for that reason, their parents will have decided not to send them to school. Since a school may have one or two pupils fewer, there is a risk that this could be the difference between its losing a teacher and holding on to one. This year, I would like common sense and sensitivity on the part of the Department of Education regarding primary schools that find themselves in this unique position. Last year, over 428 schools lost a teacher because of lower numbers. The majority of those schools are in rural parts. It is vital that sensitivity and common sense be adopted by the Department this year.
I ask the Leader to stress that to the Minister for Education and Skills.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:37+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-09-30