The State should stop paying teachers in fee-paying schools and divert the money saved to help combat disadvantage, a leading teacher union has said.
In a controversial pre-Budget submission, the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) also wants a special 2 per cent education levy applied to all corporate profits to provide additional funds for education at every level.
The union also wants a commission on school discipline "to investigate root causes and identify means of tackling problems".
On fee-paying schools, the TUI says State funding of teachers' salaries costs €85 million per year. "We must ask ourselves is it right that schools, which many in society cannot afford to attend, are given the same funding as free-to-attend public schools. With disadvantage still the primary barrier to education in Ireland, surely this funding would be better directed elsewhere."
The former education minister, Mr Dempsey, explored the possibility of withdrawing State funds from State schools, but this drew opposition from religious orders and from the PDs.
In its submission, the union is also seeking:
Honouring of Government commitment in a national partnership agreement to recruit and deploy 400 additional teachers on a targeted basis in disadvantaged second-level schools.
Expansion of the School Completion Programme (or similar) as a vehicle for an integrated, targeted approach to tackling disadvantage.
The automatic retention by a child of special needs designation upon transfer from primary to post-primary.
This will eliminate the lengthy hiatus that currently occurs while an application for designation is being processed.
Provision of a short, intensive in-service programme to existing learning support teachers to cover any shortfall in regard to special needs teaching.
The union is also seeking a substantial increase in funding for the National Educational Welfare Board, the group which monitors school attendance.
The board told a Dáil committee last week that it could not provide a service in nine counties because of inadequate funds.
