Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are on a roll of congratulations, so I want to congratulate the Deputy on his recent marriage. I wish him well.

Ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have qualified, engaged teachers available to support them in their learning is a key priority area of action for the Government. In budget 2024, a variety of commitments have been given, which includes an introduction, as I outlined previously, of a professional master of education incentive scheme for all newly qualified teachers graduating in 2024. Eligible teachers can receive an incentive payment of up to €2,000. There is expansion of upskilling programmes, free to teachers with no charge, aimed at increasing the number of qualified teachers in high-demand subjects and reducing out-of-field teaching.

New programmes include Irish, French, politics and society and computer science. These complement the existing upskilling programmes in maths, physics and Spanish. Trinity College Dublin will deliver a new Irish upskilling programme for post-primary teachers starting in late 2024, available at no cost to eligible teachers. There is provision of an additional 1,000 posts of responsibility in the school system for the 2024-25 school year, recognising the vital role of school leaders in enhancing educational outcomes by fostering a positive school environment and empowering educators and learners within their communities.

In addition to these recently introduced measures, as Minister, I have also worked with other stakeholders to introduce other additional measures, including approving 610 extra places on initial teacher education programmes for primary level, thereby ensuring flexibility in initial teacher education programmes to allow student teachers to support schools, with over 2,700 registered under route 5 with the Teaching Council of Ireland in 2023. Measures also include continuation of primary supply panels, encouraging retired teachers to make themselves available for substitute cover, with a 49% increase in that area, as I said earlier, reduction of restrictions on job-sharing for teachers and those on career breaks with regard to making themselves available as substitutes, and enabling post-primary teachers to provide up to 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term in their qualified subject. These measures contribute to the lowest ever teacher allocation ratio in primary schools, with a 10% reduction in the average student:teacher ratio between 2017 and 2023.

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