Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of vacancies in teaching posts at second level that will become available from September 2012 in respect of the exodus of staff from the public sector under pension arrangements due to end at the end of February 2012. [15462/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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While 29 February 2012 has passed the final number of teachers in Primary Secondary, Community and Comprehensive schools who have actually retired will not be available until all the retirement applications have been fully processed. The number of teachers who applied to retire in the period 1 January to 29 February 2012 is 1166. Information received from the Vocational Education Sector indicates that 220 teachers have applied to retire in that sector during that period.

Vacancies created in the teaching profession by teachers who retired up to 29 February 2012 will be filled. Students and pupils will not be left without teachers to teach them as a result of retirements. Furthermore, the turnover in teaching staff will provide many newly qualified teachers with opportunities to gain employment. The filling of vacancies in individual schools will be addressed by Boards of Management at school level.I am also seeking to reduce the impact of these retirements on students preparing for the State examinations. I am allowing schools to re-employ teachers who retired between 1 December 2011 and 29 February 2012, and who had been teaching classes due to sit State exams in 2012, until the end of the school year. In the case of teachers who are not teaching exam classes, replacements can be employed until the end of the school year, subject to the numbers framework.

The Government has prioritised, as best as possible, the filling of front-line posts in the Education sector within the constraints of the Employment Control Framework. For example, schools are permitted to fill teaching vacancies that arise within their approved staffing allocations. I am confident that the large pool of qualified and registered teachers will be in a position to continue to provide high quality education to students.