Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

93. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider fair post-primary relocation as a system of redeployment allowing teachers in the post primary sector to relocate from one school to another; if the results from the findings of the current pilot scheme will be made public; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23433/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for each 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.

Post primary schools employ teachers with the appropriate subject mix to provide for a range of subjects that can be offered to students. It is an important aspect of the annual timetabling process that schools work towards achieving this outcome where possible. Matching the subject mix on offer with the qualifications of individual teachers who typically have more than one subject, can be a challenging task for schools. It is important that schools as employers retain the flexibility to employ teachers with the capacity to teach varied subjects to maintain a wide range of subjects on offer to students.

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.  

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

The teacher redeployment arrangements are reviewed annually by my Department involving the education stakeholders, including teacher unions and management bodies. As part of the review, the Education Stakeholders can raise issues or concerns with the Department in relation to the operation of the redeployment process generally.It is open to members of the school community to liaise with their representative bodies on any matters of concern they may have.

The review in respect of the 2023/24 redeployment process took place last December. The pilot voluntary redeployment scheme operated in counties Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath in the current school year. The criteria for the allocation of teachers to schools including the redeployment arrangements for the 2023/24 school year is available on the Department's website.  

Teachers who apply under the pilot voluntary scheme and are 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.

My Department has received a report proposing the introduction of a Teacher Relocation Scheme from a working group established by one of the teacher unions. The Department will give this careful consideration and arrangements are being made for Department officials to meet with the teacher union in the coming weeks to discuss this report.