The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) has welcomed this afternoon’s publication of the report and recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills on Off-Shore Island Schools. The Union has 138 members in five such schools off the coasts of Galway and Donegal.
Speaking today, TUI President Joanne Irwin described the recommendations as ‘having significant potential to address the unique challenges faced by these schools.’
‘Implementation of the recommendations would provide an essential and timely boost to island communities,’ she said. ‘All stakeholders have found common cause with this issue. It is now crucial that the Minister and his Department act urgently to afford these schools the opportunity to operate on a level playing field.’
Click here to download the report.
Among the report’s recommendations are:
- The reinstatement of the island allowance for teachers in island schools as an incentive for accessing and retaining teaching staff;
- Inadequate School Budgets – an annual increase of €20,000 per post-primary island school;
- Teacher Allocation – that the formula for teacher allocation be amended and increased to reflect the needs of off-shore island schools;
- Enrolment and Scholarship Schemes – that the Minister investigates the possibility of extending the scholarship scheme and removing the exclusion of Gaeltacht pupils from the eligibility criteria;
- That independent status be granted to Coláiste Naomh Eoin, Inis Meáin;
- That DEIS status be awarded to the five post-primary island schools concerned;
- That a specific policy to address the needs of island schools is drafted and implemented; and
- That a system of ‘island proofing’ be implemented for legislation, policies and initiatives produced by the DES in the future.