The Government has not done enough to help schools fill staff vacancies, the Labour Party has claimed.
With only a few weeks to go before the new school year, there are 643 primary school jobs currently advertised and a further 456 for secondary school teachers.
Many principals say the crisis is particularly acute in the capital, with many teachers put off by the higher cost of living and housing.
“This is about the housing crisis,” Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin told Newstalk.
“A huge amount of this is about tackling the housing crisis effectively and understanding that teachers should be able to live and work in Dublin.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”
Pile of school books on a desk.Deputy Ó Ríordáin said officials needed to take a more proactive approach to the crisis in order to mitigate it.
“It appears the Department of Education is allowing this to continue,” he said.
“There are solutions out there, we’ve spoken in the Labour Party about a Dublin allowance that would encourage more teachers to be able to live in Dublin.
“But certainly this is a problem that the Department hasn’t grappled with at all.
“As a result, schools can’t staff themselves and children are not going to be educated by trained teachers come September.”
In a statement to Newstalk, the Department of Education said:
"The number of teachers available to teach, and the number of teaching posts funded has increased in the course of the last five school years (2018/19 to 2022/23).
"The number of teaching posts allocated to primary schools increased by 12% (4,471) during this period. At post-primary, the equivalent increase was 16% (4,524). Similarly, the number registered with the Teaching Council has increased by 22% (21,237) in the years 2017 - 2023... As the recruitment and appointment process is still ongoing, it is not possible at this stage to assess whether there has been an increase, or decrease, in relation to the total number of teachers who may be appointed for the 2023/24 school year."
Main image: Primary school girls are taught.
