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

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is primarily a matter for individual school authorities, of which there are over 3,700 individual employers (boards of management of primary schools and post-primary schools, as well as ETBs).

While schools in certain locations are experiencing challenges in both recruiting teachers and obtaining substitute teachers, the vast majority of sanctioned teacher positions are filled. The rate of resignation and retirement is very low by any standard and is consistent with previous years.

The teacher allocation ratio in primary schools is now at the lowest ever seen at primary level. The average student-per-teacher ratio in primary schools reduced by 10% between 2017 and 2023.

Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate my commitment to continued investment in our education system. In addition to numerous actions I have taken in recent years to address teacher supply, a number of specific, targeted measures will be introduced with the new funding provided.

These include a professional masters' of education (PME) incentive scheme and increasing the number of posts of responsibility.

• 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.
• 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.

These new measures are in addition to a range of targeted measures that I have introduced in recent times, including:

• I approved 610 additional places on primary initial teacher education programmes for this and the next academic year (2023/24 and 2024/25).
• I have 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 2022/23, more than 2,700 3rd and 4th-year undergraduate student teachers registered with the Teaching Council and provided valuable support to schools as substitute teachers. This number is expected to be exceeded in the current school year. PME students are also eligible for such positions and can register with the Council under route 3 (Further Education).
• Restrictions on job-sharing teachers from working as substitutes have been reduced. These teachers may be employed to work as substitutes during the period they are rostered off duty.
• Limits on substitute work applying to teachers on career breaks have also been suspended.
• Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) employed in primary schools will from 13 November be able to apply to the Teaching Council to complete the Droichead process while employed on a Supply Panel or Principal Release Time Post. This measure increases the attractiveness of these posts to NQTs, and supports primary schools to provide substitute cover.
• Continuing the operation of primary substitute teacher supply panels in 2023/24, with 590 teaching posts allocated to 166 panels covering nearly 2,900 schools. This scheme provides substitute cover for teachers employed in primary schools who are absent on short-term leave.
• Teaching remains an attractive career choice: Starting pay for primary teachers is over €41,000 since October under the extension to Building Momentum. Over 3,700 newly qualified teachers have registered with the Teaching Council in 2023, with over 120,000 now on the Teaching Council register. There has been an increase of 20% in the number of students graduating from initial teacher education programmes between 2018 and 2023.
• 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 recognises the importance of providing well-timed and appropriate support to pupils with identified learning needs.

• The Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation for mainstream schools provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on the educational needs profile of each school.
• Schools are frontloaded with ring-fenced SET resources for the purpose of supporting pupils with an identified and recorded special education learning need (including dyslexia). This allocation allows schools to provide additional teaching support for pupils who require such support in their schools based on each pupil’s individual learning needs.
• It is a matter for each school authority to deploy SET resources effectively to meet the needs identified in the Student Support Plans, which should be based on the continuum of support framework.
• Once the Department allocates SET hours to a school it is the responsibility of the school and the board of management to utilise the allocation to meet the needs of those students with special educational needs.
• SET hours should only be used for their intended purpose to support pupils with an identified and recorded special education learning need. Any redirection of these resources to other school roles has a direct impact on those students in our educational system with greatest need of SET support.

My 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.