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25th April 2025
10:50am BST
Ireland AM host Tommy Bowe has been called out over his 'harsh' comments about teachers.
The presenter jokingly commented about how many holidays teachers in Ireland get when discussing the Leaving Cert reform.
The Department of Education and the Teachers Union of Ireland are discussing changes to the final year exams.
It has been suggested that pupils are graded on continuous assessment over a period of time. This portfolio would account for 40% of their final grade.
There has been some pushback on the reform, as many teachers are concerned about the quick turnaround and lack of training.
When discussing the minister's plan to train teachers in September, Tommy Bowe quipped:
"But these teachers are just coming from a two-week break holiday and will be going on a three-month holiday, so trying to squeeze training in can't be easy either."
Tommy's supposedly harmless comment was called out by one viewer who accused him of 'hating' teachers.
They said, "I can't get my head around why Tommy hates teachers so much. Like in any job, there are those that are slackers, but the majority work really hard. He should maybe find out a little more about what's involved in teaching today, that's not from what he remembers."
Bowe responded to the remark and stressed that he does not hate teachers.
He said he understands why teachers are concerned and can see "some of the frustration."
"I can understand the concerns about the teachers wanting to be trained up so they can do the job to their best ability."
"I don't hate teachers, far from it. My kids' teachers are fantastic. Now, teachers didn't really like me growing up."
