Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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235. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will establish a national voluntary redeployment panel for teachers who wish to relocate to enable them to keep their permanent and contract of indefinite duration status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62953/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority as the employer. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.

The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers to other schools where vacancies exist. Ensuring efficiency in the annual redeployment processes is significant in terms of managing the overall teacher numbers.

At Post-Primary level, following discussions between the relevant stakeholders a voluntary redeployment scheme has operated on a pilot basis in specific regions in recent years. Permanent teachers employed in these regions are given an opportunity to volunteer for a transfer to other areas of the country only if such a transfer would free up a vacancy that would facilitate the redeployment of a surplus permanent teacher in the region.

To-date the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme has operated in 24 counties. The pilot voluntary redeployment scheme assists the Department to achieve its objective of redeploying all surplus permanent teachers.

Teachers who applied under the pilot voluntary scheme and were not facilitated with a transfer continue to have the option of applying for posts in their preferred location that are advertised in the normal manner.

The criteria for the allocation of teachers to schools including the redeployment arrangements for the 2023/24 school year will be available on the Department's website in early 2023.