Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 64: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the instructions that have been given by him to boards of management of primary and post-primary schools in relation to recruitment of teachers for temporary and substitute teaching positions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14474/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The process of allocating teaching resources to schools for 2011/2012 and the arrangements for filling vacant or new teaching posts, including temporary posts, takes place in the context of the EU/IMF Programme of Support for Ireland and the Public Service Agreement 2010/2014. It is necessary for my Department to exercise additional control and reporting measures this year to ensure that the numbers of teachers employed in schools is consistent with the EU/IMF Programme of Support for Ireland. This requires that all permanent and fixed term positions are in the first instance made available to those surplus teachers with either permanent contracts or contracts of indefinite duration. It is the intention of the Department to restore recruitment from fixed-term teachers on the main panels, supplementary panels or public advertisement at the earliest possible opportunity, after all the surplus permanent teachers have been redeployed.

Circular 31/2011 recently issued by my Department sets down rules in regarding the appointment of appropriately qualified registered teachers and is applicable to all appointments made on or after 1 September 2011. Schools will be required to keep a list of appropriately qualified registered teachers who are available for substitute teaching at short notice. Teachers who are available for work will be able to inform schools in their locality and be included on this list. Schools must then use this list or a service like Subsearch or TextaSub when they need a teacher at short notice. If a school cannot find an unemployed teacher in time, they may then employ a retired appropriately qualified registered teacher. If none are available, it may move on to employ a registered teacher whose qualifications are for a different sector or post giving preference, wherever possible, to an unemployed teacher over a retired one. If a school, despite its best efforts, cannot find a registered teacher it may, for a maximum period of one week, employ an unregistered person, provided that it is satisfied that the person is competent and capable to act in place of a teacher. A school must continue looking for an appropriately qualified registered teacher and, if it finds one in the meantime, the interim person must be let go.