DONEGAL’S primary teachers have joined a major national campaign calling on the Government to hire 1,000 more teachers in next year’s Budget, warning that overcrowded classrooms are “robbing our children of the opportunity to thrive.”
TDs and Senators from Donegal attended the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation’s (INTO) National Lobby Day at Buswells Hotel in Dublin on June 10, where union activists outlined the urgent need to tackle teacher shortages and class sizes that exceed the EU average.
Áine McGinley, the INTO’s local representative for Donegal, was among those who briefed public representatives on the scale of the crisis facing schools across the county and the country.
Figures recently confirmed to the INTO by the Department of Education and Youth paint a stark picture: 419,823 Irish children -representing 80% of primary pupils, are in classrooms above the EU average class size of 19. This year, 996 long-term teaching posts remained vacant in primary and special schools, while 7,864 unqualified people were employed as substitute teachers.
After the event a local INTO representative said the lobby event gave Donegal activists a vital platform. “Our lobby event was a timely opportunity for our activists from every Dáil constituency to inform TDs and Senators of how a dire situation is drastically impacting schools across the country and frankly robbing our children of the opportunity to thrive.”
INTO General Secretary John Boyle warned the situation is worsening, with primary schools having lost 886 mainstream class teaching posts over the past three years, and a further 498 posts expected to go this summer. He also cautioned that at least 75 small rural schools across Ireland are “under severe pressure for survival,” with 12 having closed since 2023.
INTO President Brendan Horan urged teachers, parents and grandparents to back the Budget 2027 demand: “1,000 More Primary Teachers for Our Children to Thrive – that is our demand.”
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