Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá áthas orm an deis seo a bheith agam chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don Aire Oideachais, an Teachta Ní Fhoghlú, ar na hábhair thábhachtacha seo maidir le soláthar múinteoirí agus áiteanna i scoileanna dara leibhéal.

Ensuring that our children are taught by qualified teachers is a priority issue for the Department. We have heard the details of some of the various measures put in place by the Department and by education partners to address teacher supply. A number of short-term measures have been progressed. Higher education institutions, HEIs, have adopted flexible approaches in the delivery of the initial teacher education programme and supported the availability of student teachers to fill substitute vacancies. To complement this, the Teaching Council has now registered more than 2,500 third- and fourth- year undergraduate student teachers. The Department is actively engaging with retired teachers to encourage them to take up short-term substitute posts. Post-primary teachers may teach additional hours in their subject areas until the end of the school year. Teachers seconded to the Department's support services are making themselves available to fill short-term substitute positions. The Department has already issued details of the allocated teaching resources for 2023-24 school year schools, which will facilitate a more timely recruitment process for teachers in 2023. On a temporary basis for the 2022-23 school year, job-sharing teachers may be employed to work as substitutes during the period they are rostered off duty and the limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career break have been suspended. Significant additional posts have been allocated to the primary substitute teacher supply panels in areas where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continue. IPPN's new portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions will go live for schools and teachers shortly.

In addition to these measures, the Department will continue to plan for the longer-term provision of teachers to meet demand. A new programme to upskill teachers in Irish is expected to commence next term and the Department is actively considering the introduction of additional upskilling programmes in targeted subjects. There are also more options for students to qualify as post-primary teachers through a number of new four-year undergraduate programmes that have been developed by HEIs in recent years.

Addressing the challenges of teacher demand and supply requires the contribution and co-operation of a broad range of education partners. There have been regular engagements between the Department, management bodies and teacher unions in recent months on teacher supply at which potential measures are constructively considered. For example, in recent weeks, the Department has met on a number of occasions with the post-primary school management bodies to explore options for the sharing of teachers between two schools, including the potential for students to access classes through e-learning. The Minister has also met recently with the HEIs, which led to creative solutions to enhance the availability of student teachers to support schools. The Department will continue to work closely and intensively in this fashion with stakeholders to develop and implement solutions to address teacher supply challenges.

The subject of school places has been dear to my heart for a number of years because the most recent census indicated my constituency is the largest growing in population terms. I am well aware of these issues and have constantly engaged with the Department on some of the issues Senator Keogan raised. The Department plans for school provision using data from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data, census statistics and information on planned and current residential development activity. Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets also inform the Department's forecast of school place needs.

Existing capacity at schools in an area is first considered. Where there is not sufficient capacity, the Department will look to make the necessary provision by extending the capacity of existing schools or by the provision of a new school, as appropriate. The Department has a strong delivery record and this was reflected in the approximately 180 school building projects delivered in 2022. There are additionally approximately 300 school building projects at construction currently, and a pipeline of around 1,000 further projects at various stages of planning and design. The Department is currently considering its work programme and priorities for 2023. A key priority is the planning for necessary accommodation provision for 2023-24 and beyond. This includes required accommodation to make the necessary provision for children with special educational needs. I am glad to see significant progress being made in that area under the Minister and this Government.

Informing the planning for 2023-24 and future years is the Department's ongoing engagement with school authorities and patrons regarding enrolment pressures in certain areas. It is important to note that enrolment pressures in an area can be driven by duplicate applications drawn from outside the local area and school-of-choice dynamics. In order to identify the actual school place requirements, the Department liaises with school authorities and patrons, which facilitates the identification of any required solutions. This work is ongoing with schools in various parts of the country. The Department is working to ensure that required solutions can be put in place in a timely manner. Public representatives should never be afraid to raise issues in their local areas with departmental officials or the Minister, if there is any particular pressure. I have done so in the past and found it to be very effective. Sometimes, the reality on the ground is different to information the calculations provide. Notwithstanding that, it is fair to say the Department has done a very good job in recent years. The Department is conscious of the impact on children and families of uncertainty and is working with schools and patrons to provide more certainty. The Department is also cognisant of the importance of schools having clarity in a timely manner in order that they can plan for the start of the school year. The Department is committed to ensuring the required school places are in place for next year.

On Limerick, the Department is in close engagement with patrons and school authorities in the relevant pressure areas, with a view to establishing the true extent of any capacity issues and to put required solutions in place to facilitate provision of the requisite school places. The Department is aware that 26 students have not received an offer in Limerick for 2023. The Department has been in close engagement with Limerick Education Centre and school patrons and was aware of the evolving situation with regard to school places in Limerick for 2023. Schools in Limerick have already increased their available places by more than 100, including 44 additional places made available in recent weeks. It is expected that some students who have been offered places will instead accept places in other non-city schools. This could free up places that will meet the needs of some or all of the students without a place. Every child needs a place.The Department has been very clear about that and it has to happen. The Department will continue to work with school patrons to put a contingency solution in place to ensure that there are sufficient places available in the city. The Department has identified a school which will be in a position to accommodate an additional first year class intake with the support of the Department, if that is needed. There will be further clarity on this in the coming weeks. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so that every child will be accommodated. That is an absolute guarantee that every child will be accommodated and we will certainly work towards that.

There are a couple of other issues. While I appreciate what Senator Craughwell said, I reject this thing that education has been destroyed in Ireland. There definitely have been problems and issues but we actually have one of the best education systems in the world and I think we should celebrate that and thank our teachers and parents and everyone who has created that is a fact and all of the research shows that.