A Cork primary school teacher says the shortage of substitute teachers is the worst she has ever seen
Primary schools across the country are facing severe staffing shortages which is impacting the day to day operation of schools
School management says the shortage, which is at crisis level, means covering absences is very challenging
Edel Polly of the Cork branch of the Irish National Teachers Organisation told RedFM News that the crisis is deepening
"We are short approximately 1000 substitute teachers per day based on the Department of Education figures from this time last year. I'm hearing from Cork schools that the shortage is far worse this year. So we're calling on the government to make the profession more attractive enough to entice the teachers who are not practising here, to come back to teach in our Irish schools, and that's the only way really to resolve this in the short term"
