5th May 2021
Following the INTO’s call for early replacement of posts of responsibility (POR) lost to the primary and special school sector, due to the retirement of post-holders, the Department of Education has now issued a revised Posts of Responsibility Circular 0025/2021.
Speaking at INTO Congress 2021, INTO General Secretary John Boyle in his response to Minister Foley stated that “the moratorium on posts of responsibility is a barrier to future progress in primary and special education. It is a blunt instrument that has done untold damage in our sector and must be withdrawn quickly”.
The revised table takes into account POR retirements that were non-replaceable since the previous table issued and includes the estimated retirements for 2021/22. The revised table provides for the replacement of approximately 270 posts of responsibility. Some schools with the following minimum numbers of full-time teaching posts will be in a position to appoint assistant principals due to changes in the thresholds, they are:
| Number of Teachers | Posts of Responsibility |
| 8 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 20 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 32-34 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 35-37 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 38-41 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 42-45 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 46-49 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP2 |
| 50-59 Teacher Schools | + 1 AP1 and 1 AP2 |
| 60 + Teacher Schools | + 2 AP1 and 2 AP2 |
The INTO recommends that the recruitment process for these posts of responsibility commence as early as possible so that the augmented middle leadership teams will be in place from the beginning of the 2021/22 school year. Patron bodies are currently updating their lists of external assessors following the recent assessor training facilitated by the INTO and CPSMA .
The INTO will continue to press government in our pre-budget lobbying campaign for the restoration of posts of responsibility lost due to the moratorium on promotions.