THE MINISTER FOR Education today reiterated the stance that newly qualified teachers (NQTs) can pass their mandatory probation periods by availing of JobBridge internships.

The Department of Education made the declaration in 2011, but Ruairí Quinn reiterated that stance in the Dáil today in a discussion on NQTs. The internships pay those on social welfare an extra €50 per week.

Labour TD Aodhán Ó’Ríordáin asked Quinn to make a statement on the difficulties faced by NQTs in passing the mandatory 100-day probation period.

Ó’Ríordán said that teachers were being “trained for export”.

“I think what teachers are looking for is fairness. Is it fair on NQTs to have the numbers that we have in the system every year for jobs that are not there?

We are training these teachers for export. We are building them up for false hope.

“”We are trying to ensure that those that have excellent Leaving Certs, who have decided to go into a challenging and difficult profession, can get probated.”

In his response, the Minister said that JobBridge internships could be used to pass the probation, but said that teachers were not just being trained for the Irish education system.

The supply of teachers is not just for the national market.

“There is a demand in the UK, where there is a shortage of teachers in South England and the UAE for English language teachers.”

Quinn added that while the Department had asked educational bodies to favour younger teachers, they could not direct hiring policy. He said that situations arise where the only suitable person to work in a school is a retired teacher.

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