Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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127. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review an ongoing staff shortage at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12580/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In overall terms, my Department has no evidence of an overall shortage of teachers at post primary level. I am aware that some schools are experiencing difficulty in recruiting substitute teachers for certain subject areas such as Home Economics, 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 interim report identified the significant challenges in developing a model of workforce planning for teachers in Ireland. It is complex at post primary level because there is currently no central mechanism for matching the overall subject need requirements of schools with output from the education providers and, in addition, schools have significant autonomy in relation to the mix of subjects and choices they provide for students.

The TWG's final 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 Action Plan for Education for 2017 contains commitments to progress the recommendations this year.