Minister for Education Norma Foley and the Department of Education need a "complete change in their thinking" to address the current shortage of teachers, ASTI General Secretary Kieran Christie has said.
The ASTI is holding its annual conference in Co Wexford, while Teachers' Union of Ireland members meet in Killarney.
Issues to be debated include what the unions say is the deepening teacher shortage crisis which is especially being felt by schools in urban areas. The unions will propose measures to entice teachers who have gone abroad to come home.
They are also likely to propose other measures, such as a reduction in the length of time it takes to become a teacher, from two years at Masters level to just one, all aimed at making the profession more attractive to young people.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Christie said that Ms Foley "has introduced a considerable amount of very small measures which haven't made a dent in the problem".
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"This has preceded her since about 2018 but what needs to happen with this minister, and the Department of Education, is a complete change in their thinking in relation to it," he added.
Mr Christie said that a number of initiatives need to be implemented in order to incentivise teachers who have left Ireland to work abroad to come back.
"The efforts to entice people back from abroad who work in places like Canada, Australia and so on has been feeble and pitiable, quite frankly," he said.
"Inviting people back next September to part-time jobs is just not going to cut it," he added.
The minister must also introduce a range of measures with the purpose of encouraging teachers who are thinking about leaving to stay in Ireland, according to Mr Christie.
"The length of the pay-scale here is not particularly enticing for people to stay. They can go abroad and get on a much shorter salary scale and drive them up much quicker than they can here in this country – it's a 25-point scale," he said.
Speaking on the same programme, the minister said she is hesitant to make it too attractive for teachers to work abroad by recognising time spent working in non-EU countries.
"Equally so, we have to be cognisant of making it overly attractive for those going abroad and ensuring there is a fairness to the 75,000 who are actually currently working at home," Ms Foley added.
Also among the calls from teachers unions have been for a reduction in the length of the postgraduate teaching qualifications.
However, Ms Foley said the time it takes to achieve a postgraduate qualification is currently the adequate length.
"We need to ensure that teachers are suitably qualified, appropriately qualified for the newer challenges of today," she said.
Funding to enhance mental health supports
Meanwhile, Minister for Education Norma Foley announced additional funding to enhance wellbeing and mental health supports in post-primary schools.
Addressing delegates at the ASTI convention, Ms Foley said a tender would be issued this month seeking proposals from service providers to enhance the supports already available in schools.
"I anticipate that a contract for such a service provider will be awarded for a period of two to three years and the provider will be asked to develop and deliver additional supports to complement existing school systems and structures," she said.
As Ms Foley arrived to deliver her address, she was a greeted by a pro-Palestine demonstration staged by a group of ASTI delegates.
In her speech, the minister said her department is working on new guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI).
"It is intended that the initial guidelines will provide an overarching awareness of the opportunities and risks and what should be taken into consideration in using AI in a safe, responsible and ethical manner," Ms Foley said.
She added that further research is warranted on the impact of digital devices on classrooms.
"This work has already begun and will be complete by the end of this year," she said.
Delegates pass motion on artificial intelligence
Earlier, ASTI delegates passed a motion on the impact of AI on the Leaving Cert.
Delegates voted in favour of a call for greater flexibility when it comes to the proportion of marks allocated for projects and coursework completed during the year, outside of written exams.
"Given the recent developments in AI and the unique nature of each subject, that the ASTI urgently seek to ensure flexibility in the percentage of marks allocated (currently set at a minimum of 40% by the Minister for Education) to the additional component assessment (coursework, orals, or practical examinations) of each Leaving Certificate specification," the motion states.
Adrieanne Healy, a teacher and member of the Dublin Northwest branch of the ASTI, said there is a danger that students could cheat on their project work using AI.
"That wouldn't be fair to other students who wouldn't be prepared to cheat," Ms Healy said.
"With the advent of artificial intelligence, it's a simple matter of putting in the title of the project and in two minutes a project could be generated which could get at least 70% of the marks attributed and that's not fair," she added.
She said the aim was to develop guidelines to provide an awareness of the opportunities and risks and also the factors that should be taken into consideration in using AI in a safe, responsible and ethical manner.
The Department of Education has said it is actively monitoring developments in AI and the impact it may have in education and assessment settings.
Teacher shortages
500-second level teachers from across the country have gathered for the three-day convention, which began today.
More than 80 motions will be debated over the course of the convention on pay, pensions, working conditions, student welfare and school resources.
Teacher shortages are once again featuring prominently at this year's convention with motions calling for recognition of teaching service abroad for returning teachers.
Conall Ó Dufaigh, a teacher and member of the Bray branch of the ASTI, said high rents and the soaring cost of living make moving abroad a very attractive option.
"In my own school, we lost a teacher last year who went out to the Middle East," Mr Ó Dufaigh said.
"You have these companies offering to pay you huge wages free of tax, as well as an apartment."
"In the case of the teacher who left my school, he didn't want to leave his job in Ireland but then they threw in a car and, as my principal said, how do you compete with that?" he added.
Another motion will call for stronger legislation to deal with online harassment.
"That the ASTI lobby for the enactment of stronger laws to prevent online abuse and harassment on social media platforms," it states.
Almost one-in-five secondary school teachers who responded to a recent ASTI survey said they have experienced some form of work-related cyberbullying.
In her address to today's convention, Ms Foley said she was "deeply concerned" by such reports.
"There is no place for such behaviour against teachers who are simply doing their job," she said.
A motion on working conditions and pay will call on the ASTI to ballot members on industrial action, up to and including strike action, if unpaid 'Croke Park' hours are not terminated before the beginning of the 2025/26 school year.
Retention and recruitment 'in crisis'
The theme of the TUI's annual congress is "educate, advocate and empower", with the union saying that teacher recruitment and retention is in crisis.
An online survey of more than 700 of the union's members has found that only around one third of respondents who were recently appointed received a contract of full hours when they were initially hired.
To tackle the issue of teacher recruitment and retention, the TUI is calling for full-time jobs upon initial appointment, a reinstatement of allowances formerly paid to teachers, more career opportunities and full recognition of teaching service overseas for those wishing to return home.
"Schools must be provided with enhanced allocations so that they can provide secure jobs on full hours if graduates are to choose Ireland over other jurisdictions," said TUI President David Waters.
"Similarly, we need to recognise overseas teaching experience for incremental purposes here, if we are to attract Irish teachers back to these shores."
The TUI is also calling for increased investment in education, pointing out that the spend at second level here, at 1% of GDP, is just half the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average.
"In international terms, our investment level is shamefully low," he said.
"If we are serious about aspiring to having a world class education system, our policymakers must match the commitment of students and educators by appropriately funding the sector."
General Secretary of the TUI Michael Gillespie will deliver his address to congress at around noon today.
The union represents more than 20,000 teachers and lecturers in second level schools, colleges of further education and training, technological universities and institutes of technology.
Additional reporting: Paschal Sheehy and Brian O'Donovan
