Towards a Better Future

Chapter Eleven: The Financing and Resourcing of Education at Primary and Post-Primary Levels
incentive to teachers undertaking certified CPD – important when one considers the lower
proportion of Irish teachers taking advanced qualifications in comparison to their international
colleagues – and indeed, the substantially lower number of days of all kinds of CPD taken by Irish
teachers (OECD, 2009).
At the time of writing, there are on-going discussions between the DES and other stakeholders on
the issue of pay arrangements for newly-qualified teachers. These discussions are taking place within
the context of the acceptance by two of the teacher unions (the INTO and the TUI) of the
Lansdowne Road Agreement (DES, 2016e). The matter of CPD in relation to the implementation
of the new Junior Certificate programme has been outlined in a circular letter from the Department
(DES, 2016a). As the economic indicators improve, there has been a series of allocations by the
Department of Finance to educational services. There is now an opportunity for the restoration of
many of the cuts that were implemented, especially those that affected the most marginalized pupils.
Education at a Glance each year provides a snapshot of indicators for each participating country.
These are necessarily time-bound. The value is that they provide a mechanism for policy-makers,
educators and citizens to evaluate the progress, or otherwise, in their education systems, in
comparative perspective.
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