The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) today said that staffing changes announced in December’s Budget will essentially rob new teachers of the opportunity to gain employment from the start of the next school year. 799 second level teachers will retire before new pension changes become effective at the end of February, according to reports. However, 700 posts will be taken from the same schools as a result of December’s Budget. The union has also described the February 29th deadline for retirements in the education sector as ‘absurd’.

Speaking this morning, TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann said:

“According to numbers reported today, 799 second level teachers will retire before new pension changes become effective at the end of February. This should have provided a once-off opportunity for those hundreds of young and newly qualified teachers struggling to gain employment in Irish schools across a range of subject disciplines. It is therefore most regrettable that around 700 teaching posts will be removed from the second level system ahead of the next school year in an administrative sleight of hand announced in December’s Budget.

In too many cases, we will be exporting our best and brightest young teachers to London, Melbourne and Toronto when they should have a legitimate expectation that these retirements would provide a window of opportunity.
Questions have been asked of the timing of this deadline, with many suggesting that it is not in the best interest of students. At all times, TUI made strong representation to the Department of Education and Skills that the February 29th deadline was an absurd one for retirements from the education sector, particularly for those teachers taking Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate classes. Indeed, many retiring teachers contacted us aghast at this situation.

The Department’s subsequent decision to allow schools to re-employ retiring teachers until the summer months was an afterthought. In the interests of students, the retirement deadline should have been extended to the summer months.”