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.

A Steering Group on Teacher Supply was established in my Department in 2018. The Steering Group is leading on the identification of issues, the development of a programme of actions on teacher supply and the oversight of its implementation.

The Teacher Supply Action Plan, published in November 2018, contains a range of actions including the development of programmes to upskill existing teachers in targeted subject areas. Upskilling programmes are provided over two years on a part-time basis and are available for registered teachers to upskill in subjects where teacher supply is constricted. These programmes are free of cost to participants.

My Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) issued a funding call in 2019 to initial teacher education (ITE) providers for upskilling programmes in mathematics, physics and Spanish. Following the successful completion of the funding call, these programmes commenced in January 2021. Over 900 teachers have completed or are in the process of completing these existing programmes.

In addition, I recently announced that Trinity College Dublin, alongside Marino Institute of Education, had secured a contract to deliver an upskilling programme in Irish. This part-time programme, beginning later this year, will also be free of cost to participants and will be provided in a flexible and innovation manner to enable broad participation, accommodating teachers in both full and part-time roles, as well as those situated across the State.

Budget 2024 reflects this Government’s commitment to ongoing investment in the education system through various measures including in the provision of upskilling programmes. Funding is being provided for existing upskilling programmes as well as for an expansion in the number of upskilling programmes. Officials of my Department are currently developing additional upskilling programmes in French, politics & society, and computer science. It is intended that requests for tender will be published in the coming months for these upskilling programmes.

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.