A Co Mayo teacher on an annual salary of more than €40,000 goes to school every day but is not allowed to teach students.
The bizarre situation at McHale College, Achill Sound, has been going on since September and is causing serious concern for pupils, their parents and staff at the Vocational Education Committee-run second-level institution.
Mr Tom Feehan, a teacher of woodwork and drawing, religion and civics, arrives for work each day just before 9.30 a.m. and sits in the staffroom all day until the school bell rings at 4 p.m.
Mr Feehan, who has about 30 years' teaching service, was taken off the school roster last September, following an alleged litany of rowdy classroom incidents.
Mayo VEC, which has responsibility for the staffing of all vocational schools in the county, decided to remove Mr Feehan from the teaching timetable.
The daily sight of Mr Feehan sitting idly in the staffroom has been described as "demoralising" for the 17 other teaching staff at McHale College, which has 210 students on its books.
Although Mr Feehan is only a number of years from the normal retirement age of 65 and would be eligible for a gratuity and a pension, he hasn't chosen this option.
The chairman of the board of management at the college, Mr Michael McNulty, expressed concern about the continuing situation yesterday .
Mr McNulty said he hoped the saga would be resolved soon for the sake of students, parents and staff.
Describing the situation as "irregular to say the least", Mr McNulty said the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI), which represents Mr Feehan, had refused to allow the issue be discussed at either board of management or VEC level.
Mr Padraig Walsh, chairman of Mayo TUI branch, has refused to make any comment on the situation.
Mr Feehan said when asked to comment on his situation: "I am assigned to the school. You had better talk to the principal."
He explained that he had taken instructions from his trade union, the TUI, on the matter.
In response to a list of faxed questions about Mr Feehan's situation, the chief executive officer of Mayo VEC, Mr Joseph Langan, said he could not comment "at this point in time".
The matter is currently the subject of discussions/negotiations between Co Mayo VEC and the Mayo branch of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, Mr Langan said.
"As you can appreciate, these discussions/negotiations are of a confidential and personal nature," he said.