Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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According to figures from the Irish National Teachers Organisation this morning, only 36 substitute teachers were available nationally on its SubSearch facility today. This compares with an average daily total of 400 in previous years. Today's figures would not cater for the necessary cover for Tallaght, let alone the whole country.

The shortage of substitute teachers has been a matter of grave concern to principals throughout the country since the October mid-term break as well as to teachers. Indeed, we now have teachers offering to come in under the weather, as it were, rather than having a class broken up and distributed among the other classes in the school. This poses particular difficulties for teachers in one, two and three-teacher schools. It is especially difficult in smaller towns and cities and rural areas. It is a serious headache for principals.

One principal described the situation to me. She said that recently she had three sick colleagues and another was on a pre-arranged course day. All three absent teachers were on certified sick leave. She made more than 20 calls to her own personal list of substitutes but no one was available. She eventually sourced a teacher through the INTO SubSearch facility, but that teacher was on her way to a medical appointment with a sick parent. No substitutes were available through the Irish Primary Principals Network TextaSub facility. This resulted in two of the classes being distributed throughout the school, with one class having 39 children for the day. She also had to use two the learning support staff to cover these classes on the day, resulting in potential disruption to children with special educational needs. That principal set out clearly the difficult effect that lack of substitution arrangements or facilities can have for people.

The shortage of substitutes is having a serious impact on teaching principals as they are increasingly unable to avail of the principal release days. Such days are vital to them for administrative and leadership planning roles in their schools. This is a consequence of the lack of substitute cover. It is also impacting on the ability of teachers to participate in continuing professional development for the same reason.

There is a real danger that the substitute shortage will quickly have an impact on learning outcomes. We are all rather proud of the OECD programme for international student assessment report and the standings published earlier this week. They show that we have improved to become the third-best performing nation in the world in terms of reading. This move was initiated by my now retired colleague, the former Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn. Classes of up to 40 children on a regular basis will rapidly undermine this progress.

The reality is that the current situation is directly related to the issue of pay equalisation. Teachers are being actively recruited by Middle Eastern countries, even from the teacher education sections of our universities. Teachers from large urban areas are especially concerned at the high cost of living in comparison with their now reduced pay. Like staff in the medical sector, we are now in danger of losing a generation of teachers who have been educated at the considerable expense of taxpayers.

The Minister urgently needs to consider the establishment of a national and regional supply panel, such as those in operation in other countries. This would give substitute teachers and schools some degree of certainty in respect of their positions. I am keen to hear the response of the Minister.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that some schools are experiencing difficulty in recruiting adequately qualified substitute teachers. I am committed to examining all possible means of addressing that issue. In overall terms, however, the Department has no evidence of a recent or current shortage of primary teachers. There are many different variables that affect the supply and demand for teachers in our schools, such as the number of new graduates, the number of retirees, Government policy on the pupil-teacher ratio and so on. Deputy Burton is aware of these factors.

In 2015, a one-year reduction in the number of newly qualified teachers graduating from the higher education institutions materialised due to the reconfiguration and extension of the programme of initial teacher education from three to four years. This may have contributed to a reduction in the supply of teachers at primary level. A little over 3,500 graduate teachers registered with the Teaching Council last summer. Another important factor to take into account in this area is that the entire thrust of policy under the previous Government, in particular the relevant Ministers at the time, Mr. Quinn and Deputy O'Sullivan, was to ensure that to the greatest extent possible young teachers at the start of their careers, including unemployed teachers, were given priority when it came to recruiting substitute teachers. Obviously, that is putting some pressure on supply. In recent years, with the improving economic environment, we have been able to step up the pace of recruitment of teachers. This September we recruited 2,260 new teachers. Next September we intend to recruit 2,400, more than double the number possible in recent years.

The Department considers it important that the supply of teachers with the required qualifications is adequate to meet demand at primary and post-primary level. The Teaching Council Act gives a specific statutory role to the Teaching Council to advise in that respect. The council has been asked to consider the matter of teaching supply. The council has set up a technical working group. The working group is examining a series of issues. The aims of the working group include developing and piloting a model of teacher supply that would seek to ensure a sufficient supply of teachers to meet demand; formulating advice on teacher supply for consideration by the Teaching Council; considering the analysis of data held by the council and the Department in developing the pilot model of teacher supply; and generating policy recommendations on teacher supply for consideration by the Teaching Council. In parallel with that reform, the relevant education stakeholders were consulted regarding the emerging recommendations during the process. Feedback from this group was considered by the working group in its deliberations and in the development of the final report. I expect the report to be published in due course. The report includes recommendations specific to the supply of teachers. I expect the Department to be in a position to progress consideration of the report in the near future.

I will specifically ask that the issue of substitute supply be examined in that context because of emerging difficulties. We will look at various suggestions that might ease the short-term pressure.

The question of whether a panel will be established was put forward. At the moment there is a good network that uses rapid website communication. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, it is not always successful. Whether the Department could improve on that would be an issue that would have to be considered.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. A sense of urgency and an acceptance that this is a problem is required. It is a disturbing issue for school principals and management. It is especially difficult if a number of teachers become sick or if, in the longer term, a number of staff become pregnant and require maternity leave. The INTO has been looking for a national and regional supply panel. Such a facility would have to operate regionally with the use of social media or some other information technology-based contact base. It is possible to have a rapid flow of information to and from school principals to the panel in their area. The problem is especially acute in smaller schools where there is a teaching principal, as opposed to an administrative principal in a larger school where that principal does not have to teach as well.

There are real problems in such schools if one or more of the teachers is missing. While it can be exciting for kids for a day or two when two classes are put together, the kind of uncertainty this generates is not great from an educational planning perspective. In fact, it can be a sign of the total absence of planning. I appreciate that the Minister is in the hands of the Teaching Council to some extent. I am disappointed by the slow development of the final report which the Minister has said he expects "to be published in due course". Would it be possible to put a timeframe on this? The Minister is famous for action plans. As we approach Christmas, can we have an action plan that will see regional and supply panels established by the end of January? It is not a difficult principle. I expect the Minister to respond to it positively.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Teaching Council is considering the longer-term issue of the future supply of all teachers, including substitute teachers. I accept that the restrictions which have been imposed on the recruitment of retired teachers could be re-examined as a short-term measure. There would have to be an assessment of whether a panel would work. Short-term opportunities tend to arise in this area at short notice. The question of whether any panel can facilitate an instant response will have to be considered. There are good websites that are often very successful, but at times there can be restrictions on local availability due to the nature of the positions on offer. There is a genuine difficulty in this respect. I will have a look at this issue, but I do not want to commit to having a solution when there is no immediate path here. We will assess what can be done. We will look at the various suggestions that have been made, including Deputy Burton's suggestion with regard to the INTO and the suggestions that have been made by management bodies, to see whether we can respond more effectively.