Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to say as a point of context that we have more teachers in Ireland and working in Ireland than ever before.

The pupil-teacher ratio is lower than it was in the past. We are having at least some success recruiting and retaining teachers but there is a real challenge as well. We are in a period of full employment and a period of very fierce international competition for talent. This is true in the public sector and the private sector. It is true for well-paid jobs and for poorly paid jobs. I do not know anyone who is not struggling at present to recruit and retain staff for this reason. It is not as simple as saying that putting up pay necessarily solves the problem because other people will then put up pay also and they are still competing for a scarce resource and scarce talent. We have a pay deal with teachers. They ratified that pay agreement. We are implementing it. It involves improvements to pay, conditions and allowances. I expect that during the summer, and certainly before October, we will begin the process of engagement with the public sector unions, including the teachers' unions, on the next deal.

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