Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps I should have said at the outset that teaching is an attractive career. That is reflected in the fact that there has been a significant increase in the number of people who have applied to become teachers and who have registered with the Teaching Council. The increase of 13% and 17% in both primary and post-primary allocated teaching posts reflects the fact that we committed to increasing the overall number of teachers. I appreciate that we need to do more. For that reason, I hope as soon as possible to outline a number of ways in which we can encourage even more entrants into the profession and that we can retain and support those who are there. That could be, for example, by working through a new overall pay agreement. In recent years the starter salary for teachers has increased significantly through those negotiations. They must happen on a whole-of-government basis.

We are focused on what more we can do to support those in leadership positions and to provide resources to make sure that we have a continued increase in the capacity of our capital programme, which has seen billions invested in recent years. All of this will help us address the challenges that exist but also provide positive opportunities for students and teachers.

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