Donegal teacher highlights report ranking Ireland last on education spending

A Donegal teacher has criticised the government following a new report that ranked Ireland last out of 34 countries for spending on second-level education.The OECD Education at a Glance report ranks countries based on the proportion of GDP invested in education, and in 2021 Ireland invested 0.9 per cent of its GDP in second-level education compared to EU averages of 1.9 per cent, which is a funding gap of almost €1,000 per second-level student.The ASTI is now calling for more resources to be given towards underfunded schools, along with a focus on teacher recruitment.VP of the ASTI, Padraig Curley, says investment in education comes back into the society in the future: