Ten civilian teachers are still employed by the Department of Defence to work at the Army Apprentice School in Co Kildare, even though the school was closed three months ago, the RACO annual conference heard yesterday.
The teachers, who are drawing salaries of up to £27,000 annually, "now sit at home through no fault of their own", as "no thought was given to their future", Comdt John Ryan said. Some 28 apprentices who had been moved to the Curragh had not received formal instruction or adequate training for the past 10 weeks, he said.
Comdt Ryan, who was military commander with the school until it was shut down as part of the recent round of Army barrack closures, criticised the absence of planning for apprentice training after 2000.
A Department of Defence spokesman said the closure of the school had first been proposed by the Army in 1990, and it was accepted that apprentices were better placed in training outside the force.
The department had been in discussions with the Teachers' Union of Ireland in relation to the future of the 10 civilian teachers, the spokesman said.