The Department of Education has announced additional measures to help increase the availability of substitute teachers. It comes as schools warn that they are at breaking point amid a crisis level of staff shortages.
Following today's meeting with Minister for Education Norma Foley, the country's teacher education colleges have agreed to facilitate the release of postgraduate and undergraduate 3rd and 4th year students to make them available to support schools.
The colleges have agreed to explore measures, such as changes to the timetabling of assessment requirements so that students can make themselves available in the run up to the Christmas holidays.