Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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180. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update regarding the establishment of a transfer/relocation scheme for teachers; what progress has been made on this issue; what is her intended plan to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49268/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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186. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 355 of 16 May 2023, if her Department has met with the teacher union to discuss the report proposing the introduction of a teacher relocation scheme; and the actions she has taken to progress this important issue. [49342/23]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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199. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 96, 112, 115, 355 and 382 of 16 May 2023, for an update on the report her Department received proposing the introduction of a teacher relocation scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49472/23]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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224. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to detail the work conducted by her Department on introducing a fairer post-primary teacher redeployment scheme; what engagements she has made with teachers unions on the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49920/23]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what progress has been made in regard to the relocation scheme for secondary school teachers; and what further plans exist in regard to this programme. [50000/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 180, 186, 199, 205, 224 and 226 together.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for individual school authorities, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). In that regard, there are more than 3,700 individual employers (boards of management of primary schools and post-primary schools, as well as ETBs).

Earlier this year the Department received a report of a TUI working group. The report proposed the creation of a national relocation scheme whereby teachers would identify the locations that they would like to relocate to through a portal and then effectively “swap” with teachers in that location.

Department officials subsequently met with TUI representatives to discuss the matter and the proposal is being given consideration with a view to a formal response issuing.

It should be noted that an existing voluntary redeployment pilot operates that is distinct from the relocation scheme proposed by the TUI. The key purpose of the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme is to assist the Department to achieve its objective of redeploying all surplus permanent teachers.

The Department meets regularly with the teacher unions on many issues relating to teachers. The Department will continue to work intensively with all stakeholders to develop and implement creative solutions to address the needs of teachers and teacher supply challenges facing schools.