Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is grossly exaggerating the position. The truth is that the Teaching Council, having looked at this issue, was unable to make a recommendation because of its complexity. It is now seeking to ensure that data sources are identified and that information not being collected is collected. It has indicated the difficulty that exists. There are genuine problems. There is not a database of subject choices. Some people who come into education do subjects and then decide later on to do a master's degree in education. Identifying what is supply and demand work planning is a difficult issue but it does not hold back the introduction of new initiatives.

In terms of new teachers and initial training, we are ensuring that new teachers are fully briefed in the area of new curriculum development. We have continuous professional development, which ensures that teachers who will be teaching a curriculum that is changing will have the support to implement those changes. As has always been the case, work will continue to be done with teachers to make sure they are upskilled to the maximum level possible. We need to examine this because it is not satisfactory that, for example, we do not have enough physics teachers to teach physics.

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