One of Ireland’s larger Education and Training Boards has told its school principals that it will not, in general, be sanctioning career breaks or job sharing for teachers over this and next year.
This follows comments by the Minister for Education on Friday, when he linked the number of career breaks being granted to teachers with the current shortage of teachers.
In a letter sent to the principals of its 22 schools and colleges, Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board - formerly VEC - said it will only sanction both career breaks and job sharing where there is "an exceptional reason" and where the school can demonstrate how they can recruit a suitable replacement.
It said it was taking the decision following direction from the minister.
On Friday, teacher unions and other school representative bodies criticised Minister Richard Bruton's comments, with some saying that clamping down on career breaks would make it more difficult to recruit teachers.
Others said the teacher shortage was not caused by career breaks.
The body representing ETBs has said they were all were taking note of the minister's advice.
It said the ETB's had a responsibility to ensure that there were trained teachers in classrooms and that a review of the career break scheme was a key element in this.
Just over 2,200 teachers are currently on career break.
While the number of teachers on career break has risen steadily in recent years, this rise corresponds with a general increase in the number of teachers in the system as a whole.
There is anecdotal evidence that younger, more recently qualified teachers, are attracted to the career break scheme because it offers them an opportunity to work for up to five years abroad in places like Dubai.
Some of those teachers say this enables them to save money for a deposit on a home.
The granting of a career break is at the discretion of school management authorities.
