Teachers young and old are walking away the profession which has been plunged into a recruitment and retention crisis.
The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) say there are over 400 unfilled secondary teacher posts nationally.
The union has hit out at what they say is Education Minister Norma Foley's failure to address teacher shortages.
The increased length of time it takes to qualify, pay and the increased workload are cited as some of the reasons why the profession is no longer seen as attractive.
A number of Cork secondary school principals say they are struggling to recruit teachers for certain subjects in particular, with one school in Carrignavar revealing that they may not be able to offer Chemistry as a subject for incoming 5th year students.
Speaking to RedFM News, former ASTI President Ann Piggott says they are losing teachers to private industry.
"We're losing people to other industries, and we're also losing a lot of young teachers who are going abroad," she said.
"You can't blame them, I suppose: they go abroad to earn some money, there they might end up coming back with enough money so they can perhaps have a deposit for a house.
"When they were looking for work here, they were finding that they could only get seven or eight hours a week.
"You don't get a permanent job in this country until you've been in the position for two years at least."
'No one can live on that'
Principal of Coláiste Éamann Rís, Aaron Wolfe, said salary is big sticking point for teachers.
"The danger with teaching is... if you look at the salary scale you might start on 40,000 - but that in reality is not your beginning salary," he said.
"You start on a percentage of your 22 hour contract - you could be offered a contract of 10 hours, and no one can live on that.
"When you put it against the cost of living, the cost of rent you can't survive on a small teaching contract like that," he added.
