Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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143. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to set down the number of substitute teachers employed per school day, on average, in primary schools; if these positions are taken account of in planning for the supply of teachers; if his attention has been drawn to an acute shortage of teachers to fill substitute teacher positions; and his plans to address this serious issue for schools. [12259/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In overall terms the Department has no evidence of a recent or current general shortage of primary teachers, including for substitute positions. However, I am aware that some schools are experiencing difficulty in recruiting substitute teachers, and I am committed to examining all possible means of addressing this issue.

The Deputy will be aware that a Technical Working Group (TWG) was set up by the Teaching Council to formulate advice on teacher supply. The TWG's Report sets out an approach to planning which scopes out the work necessary to develop a model for teacher supply in the medium to long term. It recognises that the implementation of its recommendations will have significant resource implications, including staffing.

The Report identifies that the number of substitute teachers necessary to cover for teacher absences is an important variable in any teacher supply model. The Action Plan for Education for 2017 contains commitments to progress the recommendations this year.

The specific information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. However, an analysis of the data for one recent school day indicated that 3,661 primary substitute teachers were paid for that day. The figure includes short term and long term substitution including for example maternity leave.