A former teacher has warned that "sunshine isn't the only reason" why Irish teachers are flocking abroad in their droves.
Ciara McGuane was speaking ahead of a planned visit to the Middle East by Education Minister Joe McHugh as part of an effort to entice teachers back to Ireland.
She said: "Minister McHugh’s efforts to persuade teachers in the Middle East to come home is commendable but what is he promising them? What is there for them to come home to?
"They might pick up a maternity-cover role or fill their week substituting but that means no payment over the summer and no job security.
"The bank won’t give someone in that position a mortgage. Sunshine is not the reason Irish teachers leave.
"They're leaving to kickstart their careers, to practice their passion and to get the rewards they deserve in return.”
Ms McGuane says she believes teachers emigrate because the education system doesn't consider teachers’ long-term goals and has failed to implement merit-based structures around promotion, reward and accountability.
Ms McGuane worked schools in the UK for years before founding her own website Rahoo.ie which offers personal development courses to teachers.
She believes some aspects of the UK education system could be implemented to improve our own sysment.
“My experience in the UK enlightened me to a more transparent, structured system where rewards and promotions are merit-based, allowing for more flux in staffing and subsequently increased opportunities for graduates.
"Teachers move between schools for new roles rather than staying in one school for their career duration which is commonplace in Ireland.
"This brings about collaboration and idea-sharing ensuring teachers learn from their peers industry-wide.
"In Ireland learning opportunities can be limited as the teaching faculty doesn’t change very often in a given year.
“The idea of continuous professional development was core to that with schools investing in up-skilling and teachers investing in their development because they were motivated to do so."
