Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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151. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to address teacher recruitment issues in primary and post-primary schools; the actions being taken to recognise foreign-based qualifications of teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4934/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment of teachers is a priority area of action for the Department given the importance of ensuring that every child's experience in school is positive and that they have available to them qualified, engaged and supportive teachers to support them in their learning.

My Department is undertaking a comprehensive programme to support the supply of teachers. A number of measures are being implemented, including:

- a range of special, temporary arrangements to create greater capacity for student teachers to provided substitute cover,

- adjustment of the provision of continuing professional development (CPD) to reduce the need for substitution and to provide additional personnel to support schools,

- increasing the additional hours that post primary teachers can teach each term from 20 to 35 for the remainder of the 2022/23 school year,

- launching a communications campaign to encourage retired teachers to take up short-term substitute positions and to enable them to teach for up to 50 days in each of the calendar years 2021 to 2023 without, in most cases, a reduction in their pension, - providing the allocated staffing resources for the 2023/34 school year to post-primary schools on 26 January and to primary schools on 31 January,

- introduction, by the Teaching Council of regulations to allow the registration of 3rd and 4th year undergraduate student teachers; which has lead to over 2,100 student teachers applying for registration,

- providing for fully funded upskilling programmes in mathematics, physics and Spanish. Beginning with 170 places in January 2021, I have agreed to increase places to over 300 in 2023, and a new Irish upskilling programme is planned for 2023/24, - providing for the allocation of a significant number of additional posts to primary substitute teacher supply panels in areas where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continue. This brings the total to 610 posts on 151 panels covering more than 2,840 schools,

- allowing job sharing teachers to be employed to work in a substitute capacity, during the period they are rostered off duty, in their own or in other schools on a temporary basis for the 2022/23 school year,

- suspending the limits on substitute work that apply to teachers on career break have also been on a temporary basis the 2022/23 school year

- provision of additional posts to primary substitute teacher supply panels in areas where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continues, with an allocation of 610 posts to 151 panels covering more than 2,840 schools,

- development of Sub Seeker, a central portal for short-term substitute vacancies, by the Irish Primary Principals' Network (IPPN) and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principal’s (NAPD). The portal, launched in December 2019, matches available primary and post-primary teachers with short-term substitute vacancies. Almost 12,000 teachers have registered with Sub Seeker to date.

These measures are underpinned by the Teaching Transforms campaign which promotes the teaching profession and encourages students to follow a career in teaching.

The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. Fully qualified teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland are eligible to apply for registration with the Teaching Council. All applications from teachers who qualified abroad are processed in line with the EU Directive 2005/36/EC.

A person deemed to be a fully qualified teacher has completed a recognised teacher education qualification and any statutory programme of induction/period of post-qualification employment in the country in which they qualified and can provide an official letter from the relevant teacher registration body/Competent Authority or Ministry of Education confirming recognition as a fully qualified teacher in the State/country.

To assist with teacher supply challenges in the context of the current public health situation, the Teaching Council, on a time-bound basis, will accept applications from primary and post-primary teachers who have qualified outside of Ireland but who have not completed the statutory period of induction in the country in which they qualified. They will be able to complete induction (Droichead) in Ireland. This is accordance with the Teaching Council (Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. The application process for these teachers, will open on 22 February 2023 and remain open until 1 February 2024.

The Council is also reviewing its registration application process for teachers who qualify overseas to enhance efficiencies.

Despite the positive impact of these important actions, work remains to be done to address teacher supply challenges, particularly to ensure the availability of sufficient numbers of substitute teachers. My Department continues to work intensively with all stakeholders to develop and implement creative solutions to address the teacher supply challenges for schools