Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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409. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teachers currently employed at primary level throughout the country; the extent to which this meets requirements at the present time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57594/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Teachers are employed directly by the managerial authorities of schools and my Department acts as paymaster for the teachers employed by the schools. The number of teachers including substitute teachers employed in primary schools and paid by my Department on the 11th of November 2021 was 47,175.

The overall number of teaching posts is determined by an allocation process. The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts to schools is published annually on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location.

The current allocation is on an average ratio of 1 classroom teacher for every 25 pupils. Budget 2022 has implemented a further 1 point reduction for the 2022/23 school year so that primary schools will be allocated teaching posts on an average basis of 1 classroom teacher for every 24 pupils in September 2022. Lower thresholds apply to DEIS Urban Band 1 schools.

This Budget measure has brought the teacher allocation ratio in all primary schools to the lowest ever seen at primary level. This is the second successive Budget which has seen an improvement in allocation of teachers to primary schools.

An additional range of measures have been put in place to provide enhanced substitute cover in the context of COVID-19. These include a major expansion of the primary schools substitute teacher supply panels, which now employ almost 380 teachers and provide substitute cover to over 2,500 primary schools across the country.

The supply panels’ work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers, such as sub seeker, the national substitution portal service for primary and post primary schools, operated by the Irish primary principal’s network (IPPN). Schools can also make local arrangements to have their own regular substitutes to call on if needed.

Measures are also underway to raise awareness of the availability of substitute work in schools. The Teaching Council register of teachers currently has over 111,000 teachers and the Council has emailed all teachers on the register asking any who may be available for substitute work to register with sub seeker.

For the current school year, changes have been made to the career break scheme to permit teachers on career break to carry out unlimited substitute work. Changes have also been made to the job sharing scheme to permit job sharing teachers carry out substitute work on the days they are rostered off.