Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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191. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, given the current crisis of teacher shortages, she will consider revaluating the criteria that must be satisfied in order for service at that school to be recognised for incremental credit, which will incentivise teachers who are teaching abroad to return home and fair recognition given for the years of invaluable experience gained abroad; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49431/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in my Department’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for Post-Primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC).

These circulars provide for the award of incremental credit in respect of overseas teaching service, both within and without the EU. Where a school satisfies the criteria set out in the circulars to have service at that school recognised for incremental credit, an award of incremental credit can be made.

Criteria such as state funding and the length of time the school has been in existence must be satisfied in order for service at that school to be recognised for incremental credit. Where schools do not satisfy the required criteria, then service at that school cannot be considered towards incremental credit. Teachers must be on my Department’s payroll or teaching in an Education and Training Board school before an application can be processed.

The criteria for the award of incremental credit for teachers are subject to review by way of an incremental credit committee, which is a sub-committee of the Teachers Conciliation Council and which meets on an ongoing basis.

The Department of Education continues to engage closely with school management bodies, teacher unions and other education stakeholders to develop further, innovative measures to improve the availability of teachers given the difficulties experienced by some schools in sourcing teachers.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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192. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on her Department's engagement with educational stakeholders; and further to Parliamentary Question No. 292 of 3 October 2023, the new range of measures that are being progressed. [49432/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Education continues to engage closely with the school management bodies, teacher unions and other education stakeholders on developing the existing measures aimed to improve the availability of teachers, and to identify additional measures which can be taken.

In addition to the measures outlined in my previous response, which my Department continues to engage on, Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrates the Department’s commitment to continued investment in our education system, with a number of specific, targeted measures to be introduced with the new funding provided.

•A professional masters of education (PME) incentive scheme will be introduced for newly qualified teachers graduating in 2024. Those newly qualified teachers who graduate with a PME will, subject to some conditions, be eligible for an incentive payment of up to €2,000. This incentive payment will be paid to eligible primary and post-primary teachers in 2025. It will recognise the costs that PME students incur when completing their initial teacher education, assist them with these costs and encourage suitable candidates to consider a career in teaching.

•There will be an expansion in the number of upskilling programmes available. These programmes, which are free to teachers, increase the number of teachers who are qualified to teach in-demand subjects and reduce the level of out of field teaching. These new upskilling programmes in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science will be in addition to existing upskilling programmes in maths, physics and Spanish.

•Also, an additional 1,000 posts of responsibility will be provided in the school system for the 2024/25 school year. This is in recognition that school leaders play a key role in improving educational outcomes by creating a positive school climate and environment as well as motivating and empowering educators and learners within their school communities.

Other steps that have been taken include:

•At primary level, 610 additional places have been approved on initial teacher education programmes for this and the next academic year (2023/24 and 2024/25).

•I have recently met with the primary teacher initial education providers on continuing existing flexibilities that enable student teachers to support schools, either while on placement, or in a substitute capacity. In 2023, more than 2,700 student teachers have registered with the Teaching Council and provide valuable support to schools as substitute teachers.

•Following the Department’s Action Plan on Teacher Supply, the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) developed a portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions. The portal facilitates the matching of demand and supply and provides an efficient and user-friendly recruitment process for both schools and teachers, including teachers working abroad who wish to apply for posts here.

•The Teaching Transforms campaign continues to promote the teaching profession and encourage students to follow a career in teaching. The campaign uses digital, radio and video media, and is supported by a dedicated webpage, www.gov.ie/teachingtransforms

The Department continues to engage closely with school management bodies, teacher unions and other education stakeholders to develop further, innovative measures to address teacher supply issues.