Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At post-primary level it is the higher education institute that determines the number of places in accordance with its own available resources and arrangements. A total of 1,650 teachers graduate from these programmes each year. As regards the overall enrolments on the initial teacher education programmes, 2022-23 is the most recent year for which confirmed data is available. There were 4,700 students enrolled in primary programmes and 6,000 students enrolled in post-primary programmes across the State. I understand that Hibernia, a private college, currently has approximately 1,200 students enrolled in primary and 600 at post-primary. This means that, in total, there are approximately 12,500 people currently preparing to become primary and post-primary teachers across the State. The Deputy will see that the very significant bulk of them are coming from the State-funded sector. Equally, as I outlined, the 600 additional places at primary level that were provided for this year are also a significant boost in intake for the primary sector.

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