Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad that the Minister said she is committed to increasing the supply of teachers. That is important. In 2024, the Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI, completed a survey of new entrants to the profession. Some 35% responded and said that over recent years they did not receive a contract for full hours when they entered the profession. Some 12% said it is extremely difficult to get a full contract. When entering the teaching profession, I found that getting a full-time contract was difficult. There are maternity leave contracts or 12 or 13 hours of teaching time at second level, when a full-time contract is 22 hours. We are having difficulty in respect of contracts.

Some of my colleagues and schoolmates who have graduated have moved overseas. I do not know whether what I propose is possible under the Minister's remit; I hope it is. We should recognise overseas teaching experience in terms of incremental teaching experience in this country. I refer, for example, to a teacher who taught for five years abroad being added to that incremental scale.

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