Adult education tutors are to protest outside Leinster House today calling on the Minister for Higher Education James Lawless to protect hundreds of teachers who are potentially facing redundancy.
The Adult Education Teachers Organisation (AETO) has accused the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science of underfunding further education agency Solas.
The AETO said this has led to adult education teachers all over the country being told they have no jobs to return to in September.
"These are people in their first three years of employment who had no option but to take the new Adult Educator contract," an AETO spokesperson said.
"To say that there is dissatisfaction with the conditions of the new contract would be an understatement," the organisation said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science said that as the employers, individual Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are responsible for staffing and related matters.
"The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has substantially increased its investment in SOLAS and the FET sector by 37% since 2020, with an allocation of over €1 billion in 2025," the spokesperson said.
"It is the responsibility of SOLAS and the ETBs to plan their provision within this allocation," the Department added.
