Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has asked teacher leaders and the other education partners to suggest ways in which the administrative burden in schools might be streamlined.
Many school principals say they are struggling to deal with issues such as school discipline, special needs and industrial relations problems, partly as a result of the increased demands placed on them by recent legislation.
In a move seen as an acknowledgment of this situation, a letter from Ms Hanafin's department to all of the education partners says she is "of the view that we can collectively seek opportunities to ensure that this burden is kept to the minimum".
This would be "consistent with achieving the very worthwhile, and indeed essential, objectives of legislation in recent years". It says the education partners are being invited to consider where and how present processes can be improved. The suggested submissions date is April 21st, and that will be followed with discussions on any issues which arise.
"The core purpose of this exercise is to focus sharply upon administrative processes and consequent administrative burdens which arise within the school as a result of regulations and/or departmental requirements," the letter states.
John White, the new general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, said it represented a recognition by Ms Hanafin that new legislation involved significant additional bureaucracy.
He warned however that this also indicated that schools were going to need more help to deal with this burden, including additional resources.