Cork teachers say announcement of new measures to address challenges 'changes nothing'

Teachers across Cork have said that the announcement of new measures to address ongoing challenges and to boost teacher supply “changes nothing”.

The measures, announced yesterday by education minister Helen McEntee, will see teachers given permanent contracts after one year.

Under current regulations, teachers are required to complete two consecutive contracts before qualifying for a permanent position.

However, under the new regulations, teachers taking up their first contract in a viable teaching post in September 2025 will become eligible for a permanent contract in September 2026.

Those in substitute roles or those whose posts are not deemed viable after one year will not be covered under the new regulations and will continue to follow the existing route to permanency, which typically involves achieving a contract of indefinite duration (CID) in year three of their employment.

Ms McEntee said she is also committed to working with the Teaching Council to assist eligible teachers, who qualified outside of Ireland, to apply for registration and complete their induction requirements.

Speaking to The Echo, Aaron Wolfe, principal at Coláiste Éamann Rís, said that while the new measures may appear as a positive for those working or aspiring to work within the education system, the announcement is “all smoke and mirrors”.

“It’s a meaningless announcement, it changes absolutely nothing,” said Mr Wolfe.

“How it works at the moment is that you do your first interview, and get your job for a year, then the job is re-advertised at the end of that year, so you do another interview, and if you get that, it already means you’re permanent.

“So you always do two interviews — you actually get your CID in year three, they’re just bringing that forward to year two — but if you’re kept on after the second interview, that basically means you’re going to be kept on [in a permanent capacity] anyway.

“It’s all smoke and mirrors again, which is a pity from a new minister — the actual problem is that people are not there to interview. I have a guidance counsellor position available and I’ve had zero applicants,” he added.

“Teaching is not an attractive profession for anyone. There is a real teaching crisis in this country — they [the government] need to go back to basics and look at the shortage.

“The only way to make teaching more attractive, and let’s not be naive about it, is to pay teachers more money.”

Former president of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), Ann Piggott, said that while the announcement was based on good faith, “nothing really is changing”.

“My first reaction was this is great, but then in reality, I’m not sure if it’s much of a change as a CID won’t be offered until the following September,” said Ms Piggott.

“The minister’s intentions are good, but I do think that if permanent jobs are going to be given that quickly, they should be given in May.

“For the teachers on the ground, nothing really is changing,” she added.

“The minister really needs to make jobs permanent at the end of the first year, and really needs to remove the Croke Park hours, because that’s really turning people off the profession,” she said.

Croke Park Hours, which were introduced as an emergency measure in 2010, under the Public Sector Agreement 2010-2014, also known as the Croke Park agreement, require teachers to work an additional 33 hours per annum.

These hours are designated for school planning and policy development, including subject planning, staff meetings, parent teacher meetings, induction, nationally mandated or approved school arranged in-service/continuous professional development, appropriate further education activities and substitution and supervision.

“There are several evenings a week where teachers have to stay back for two to three hours, and those hours need to be removed, because at the other end of the scale, that’s why a lot of people are retiring so fast — they hate the Croke Park hours,” Ms Piggott added.