Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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725. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to a shortfall in numbers of substitution teachers available in the substitution teacher panel to a school (details supplied) in Dublin 9; if additional teachers can be provided to the panel; when additional teachers will be made available; the number of schools that have identified such a shortfall to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32587/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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A number of specific measures have been taken to increase the pool of available substitute teachers, including the establishment, in the 2019/20 school year, of a Substitute Teacher Supply Panel Scheme on a pilot basis as outlined in Department circular 59/2019. The pilot scheme had 6 base schools employing teachers in a fixed term basis so as to provide substitute cover to up to 90 schools.

In July, my Department of Education published the report to Government “Reopening Our Schools, The Roadmap for the Full Return to School” and announced a funding package of more than €370 million for schools to support its implementation.

Among the package of supports is the extension of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panel. Additional teachers are being provided to support the safe and sustainable reopening of primary schools in order to provide enhanced substitution and eliminate the need to mix classes when a teacher is absent.

Currently, there are 115 Substitute Teacher Supply Panels nationwide and when full recruitment has taken place there will be over 300 newly appointed Supply Panel teachers employed. These substitute Supply Panels are not the sole means whereby schools source substitutes but are set up to work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers whether through a school’s own panel of regular substitutes or the National Substitution portal service as outlined in the Department Circular 45/2020.

In relation to the Supply Panel mentioned by the Deputy, it should be noted that the recruitment of the teachers on the panel was not completed and did not operate fully until the end of September. It is a condition of the supply panels that all Base-Schools will report to my Department in relation to the utilisation and efficiency of their Supply Panels. The Teacher Supply panels operate on a first-come first-served basis with all schools assigned to the Supply Panel having equal access to teachers on the panel and can book those teachers if available by using the ‘app’ in use by the panel. There a number of ‘apps’ in use by panels generally which lead to greater efficiencies in utilisation of teachers on the panel. Schools can clearly see from such ‘apps’ the availability teachers and can plan accordingly in advance.