Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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505. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if additional supports and resources will be made available to assist school principals in the current wave of Covid-19 cases, in which a large number of teachers are absent and self-isolating, which is having a serious impact on school management in keeping the schools open; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18318/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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A number of additional measures have been put in place to enhance substitute cover.

At primary level additional posts have been allocated to substitute teacher supply panels in areas where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continue, bringing the total to 680 posts on 142 panels, covering approximately 2,700 schools.

The supply panels work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers, such as Sub Seeker,the national substitution portal service operated by the Irish Primary Principals' Network and schools can also make local arrangements to have their own regular substitutes to call on if needed.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) providing professional master of education (PME) programmes have ensured flexibility in programme delivery to enhance the availability of PME students for substitute work. PME students have been advised to register with the Teaching Council and with Sub Seeker.

In addition, HEIs providing undergraduate programmes of primary and post-primary initial teacher education have agreed to facilitate the release of 3^rdand 4^thyear student teachers to support schools.

To support this measure the Teaching Council has recently made regulations for the registration of 3^rd and 4^thyears student teachers and is currently developing a system for their registration. Pending registration with the Council, these students are still classified as unregistered persons and would be restricted to working for 5 consecutive days at any one time, as provided for under S.I. 32 of 2014 and relevant Department circulars (the "5-day rule"). However, pending the development of the system to facilitate their registration, I recently made amending regulations exempting 3^rdand 4^thyear students from the ‘5 day rule’ restriction when providing substitute cover. This amendment is strictly time limited, from 15th February 2022 to 30th June 2022. The ‘5 day rule’ remains in place for the employment of all other unregistered persons.

At post-primary level teachers were allowed, if available, to provide up to a maximum of 35 additional teaching hours between 29^thNovember 2021 and 28^thFebruary 2022. In order to continue to support schools to source substitution cover this provision has been extended for a further period, allowing up to a maximum of a further 35 additional teaching hours between 1^stMarch 2022 and 31^stMay 2022.

These measures are in addition to changes made to the career break scheme, to allow teachers on career break to do unlimited substitution, and changes to the job sharing scheme, permitting job sharing teachers to carry out substitute work on the days they are rostered off.