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.

Attracting qualified teachers, whether working overseas or not, is required to address teacher supply issues. As a result, several measures are already in place to support teachers who either qualified abroad or in the State and who are working abroad to work in Ireland. These include:

• Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who qualify outside Ireland may complete induction (Droichead) in Ireland. Teachers must apply no later than 1 February 2024 to be eligible. This measure seeks to enhance the supply of NQTs available to schools and is particularly relevant for Irish teachers who have studied and qualified abroad and who may wish to return to the Irish education sector.
• The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers in respect of previous service in countries such as the UAE is outlined in Circulars 10/2001 for primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for post-primary teachers. An award of incremental credit is made to teachers who satisfy the criteria in those circulars. This was agreed in the first instance by the Teacher Conciliation Council. This Council is comprised of representatives of the teacher unions, school management bodies, the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, and the Department of Education chaired by an official of the Workplace Relations Commission.
• Following on from the Department’s Action Plan on Teacher Supply, the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) operates an online 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.
• Turas Abhaile is an initiative of the Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools (ACCS) and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) which has assisted teachers based abroad to return to teach in Ireland since September 2019. Turas Abhaile matches teachers with specific vacancies and participating schools facilitate online interviews to suit the preferences of candidates.

In addition to the above measures, the Teaching Transforms campaign promotes the teaching profession and encourages students to follow a career in teaching. The campaign is supported by a dedicated webpage, which includes useful information for teachers seeking to return to work in Ireland or who have qualified outside the State (www.gov.ie/teachingtransforms).

Additionally, Budget 2024 contains a range of measures that demonstrate my commitment to continued investment in our education system.

• A professional masters’ of education incentive scheme will be introduced for newly qualified teachers graduating in 2024. Those newly qualified teachers who graduate with a PME will, subject to 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.
• Additionally, 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 and society, and computer science will be in addition to existing upskilling programmes in maths, physics and Spanish.
• 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.

Teaching is an attractive career choice:

• there has been an increase of 20% in the number of students graduating from initial teacher education programmes between 2018 and 2023, and 27% increase in the number registered with the Teaching Council during this period.
• almost 3,800 newly qualified teachers have registered with the Teaching Council to date in 2023, with over 121,000 now on the Teaching Council register.
• CAO first preference choices for post-primary teaching increased this year by 14%, in addition to a 9% increase in 2022.
• starting pay for Primary teachers is over €41,000 and for post-primary teachers over €42,000 since October under the extension to Building Momentum.

My Department continues to engage closely with education stakeholders to develop further, innovative measures to address teacher supply issues.