Short version: The article highlights the growing crisis faced by primary school principals in Ireland, using the story of four women who became principals around the same time as a starting point. Within three years, only one remained in the role—driven nearly to breaking point by the challenges of leading a disadvantaged (Deis) school. Research from Deakin University, commissioned by the Irish Primary Principals Network, confirms this is not an isolated issue. It shows school leaders experience significantly higher rates of burnout, stress, sleep disorders, and depression than the general working population.
Despite modest increases in government funding, such as a rise in the capitation grant from €200 to €224 per pupil annually, the article argues this is insufficient to address chronic underfunding. Some schools are resorting to delaying utility payments to stay afloat. To sustain the education system and protect the wellbeing of its leaders, the article calls for urgent investment: a basic capitation grant of €400 per pupil, additional support for Deis schools, and major infrastructural upgrades. Without this, it warns, both school leaders and the integrity of Ireland’s primary education system are at risk.
Schools do a great job of keeping everything going and it’s good to see the issue being made public. This is one of the reasons the millions for smartphone pouches was enraging… there have been plenty of schemes announced recently that sound great eg free school books is brilliant but at the same time as that was brought in there was another school grant scheme that was quietly reduced by the amount the school books were going to cost… there is money there but for years FF/FG governments have chosen not to fund schools sufficiently
If the government isnt funding them then it means every other person or company being paid late is funding them
Assume 150,000 people living in a county and 75,000 are taxpayers. A new school costs €10,000,000. That means it would cost €133.33 per taxpayer, spread out over 5 years thats €2.22 per month. If we had the proper mechanism to fund public projects like this instead of the state blindly taking a third of your income, we could have so many great things.
Want electric busses in your town? Cost is €8,000,000 for a fleet and all required infrastructure. With this mechanism the people of that county could have it for €0.88 per month for 10 years. Instead they increase tax on petrol and claim its for “carbon offsets” then spend that extra money however they want and we have to suck it up and get no say in how its spent.
The state should offer the schools/church a deal.
The state will cover the bills fully, if the church signs over the ownership of all the schools in the country to the department by 31/12/25.
Seems like a good deal to.
I’m PP but at a staff meeting recently the insane cost of utilities came up- electricity bill is up more than 30% on the same time last year. Heating costs are high four figures per month (and that’s sparingly used).
Principal is looking at a grant for solar panels- some grant covered what would be tantamount to 6, with an engineer he worked out we’d need nearer 30 to cover what we use.
Meanwhile half the sockets and sinks in my lab don’t work and we have one very small computer room between 600 students with multiple LCVP, LCA and TY classes and the new LC reforms for several subjects starting in September, requiring a project worth 40% and done across 20 hours be fully digital.
Schools are really struggling with day to day running and I’m not surprised that a lot of that is being felt by principals.
I remember studying history of education in my education degree and pretty much learning that we would have no education in Ireland if it wasn’t for the church’s contribution monetarily to make up the shortfall of the government. I’m not a fan of the church by any means but it struck home how little the government actually provides for education. The system needs an overhaul as no school should struggle with bills.
My locals schools oil was stolen two years ago and the school had no heat for 3 months as it couldn’t afford it. We had to arrange a fundraiser to help. Garda did fuck all to investigate as well as there aren’t enough of them either. You’d swear we are a poor country at times
It feels like all the “extra” schools funding is trying to reduce costs to parents (school books, meals etc) without trying to help schools deal with rising running costs. The same as they did with early years care – NCS reduced cost to parents, but childcare providers were made to freeze their fees at a time when energy & food costs were spiraling
9 comments
Short version: The article highlights the growing crisis faced by primary school principals in Ireland, using the story of four women who became principals around the same time as a starting point. Within three years, only one remained in the role—driven nearly to breaking point by the challenges of leading a disadvantaged (Deis) school. Research from Deakin University, commissioned by the Irish Primary Principals Network, confirms this is not an isolated issue. It shows school leaders experience significantly higher rates of burnout, stress, sleep disorders, and depression than the general working population.
Despite modest increases in government funding, such as a rise in the capitation grant from €200 to €224 per pupil annually, the article argues this is insufficient to address chronic underfunding. Some schools are resorting to delaying utility payments to stay afloat. To sustain the education system and protect the wellbeing of its leaders, the article calls for urgent investment: a basic capitation grant of €400 per pupil, additional support for Deis schools, and major infrastructural upgrades. Without this, it warns, both school leaders and the integrity of Ireland’s primary education system are at risk.
Schools do a great job of keeping everything going and it’s good to see the issue being made public. This is one of the reasons the millions for smartphone pouches was enraging… there have been plenty of schemes announced recently that sound great eg free school books is brilliant but at the same time as that was brought in there was another school grant scheme that was quietly reduced by the amount the school books were going to cost… there is money there but for years FF/FG governments have chosen not to fund schools sufficiently
If the government isnt funding them then it means every other person or company being paid late is funding them
Assume 150,000 people living in a county and 75,000 are taxpayers. A new school costs €10,000,000. That means it would cost €133.33 per taxpayer, spread out over 5 years thats €2.22 per month. If we had the proper mechanism to fund public projects like this instead of the state blindly taking a third of your income, we could have so many great things.
Want electric busses in your town? Cost is €8,000,000 for a fleet and all required infrastructure. With this mechanism the people of that county could have it for €0.88 per month for 10 years. Instead they increase tax on petrol and claim its for “carbon offsets” then spend that extra money however they want and we have to suck it up and get no say in how its spent.
The state should offer the schools/church a deal.
The state will cover the bills fully, if the church signs over the ownership of all the schools in the country to the department by 31/12/25.
Seems like a good deal to.
I’m PP but at a staff meeting recently the insane cost of utilities came up- electricity bill is up more than 30% on the same time last year. Heating costs are high four figures per month (and that’s sparingly used).
Principal is looking at a grant for solar panels- some grant covered what would be tantamount to 6, with an engineer he worked out we’d need nearer 30 to cover what we use.
Meanwhile half the sockets and sinks in my lab don’t work and we have one very small computer room between 600 students with multiple LCVP, LCA and TY classes and the new LC reforms for several subjects starting in September, requiring a project worth 40% and done across 20 hours be fully digital.
Schools are really struggling with day to day running and I’m not surprised that a lot of that is being felt by principals.
I remember studying history of education in my education degree and pretty much learning that we would have no education in Ireland if it wasn’t for the church’s contribution monetarily to make up the shortfall of the government. I’m not a fan of the church by any means but it struck home how little the government actually provides for education. The system needs an overhaul as no school should struggle with bills.
My locals schools oil was stolen two years ago and the school had no heat for 3 months as it couldn’t afford it. We had to arrange a fundraiser to help. Garda did fuck all to investigate as well as there aren’t enough of them either. You’d swear we are a poor country at times
It feels like all the “extra” schools funding is trying to reduce costs to parents (school books, meals etc) without trying to help schools deal with rising running costs. The same as they did with early years care – NCS reduced cost to parents, but childcare providers were made to freeze their fees at a time when energy & food costs were spiraling
Comments are closed.