Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authorities, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). My Department does not currently collate data on the number of vacant posts in primary and post primary schools per county.

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 introduced by HEIs 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 led 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, and

- suspending, on a temporary basis, the limits on substitute work that apply to teachers on career break for the 2022/23 school year.

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

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.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.

For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.

This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.

This includes additional teaching and care supports. It also includes funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for an additional 54 psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes.

In 2023 the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants in our schools next year.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 Special needs assistants. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of Special Needs Assistants and reviews.

The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.

When a school has been allocated an SNA, the Board of Management, as the employer, is responsible for filling the vacancy.

Details of the recruitment and appointment procedures which apply to SNAs is detailed in Department Circulars 0051/2019 and 0031/2022:

0051/2019 gov.ie/en/circular/cb26b4-recruitment-and-appointment-procedures-for-special-needs-assistants-/

0031/2022 gov.ie/en/circular/34197-recruitment-of-special-needs-assistants-snas-supplementary-assignment-arrangements-for-the-20222023-school-year/

The information requested in relation to unfilled positions at school level is not available as the filling of vacancies is a matter for the employer, in this case each individual school board of management.

However, while my Department does not collate this information, I wish to advise that my Department is not aware of any evidence that schools are having any difficulties in recruiting or retaining SNA staff, including for short-term vacancies such as sick leave and/or maternity leave.

All Department circulars are available on the gov.iewebsite.