Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures she intends to take to address the shortage of 13 teachers due to recruitment difficulties at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20800/24]

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.

Budget 2024 reflects this Government’s commitment to ongoing investment in the education system through various measures:

• Introduction of a professional master’s of education incentive scheme for newly qualified teachers graduating in 2024. Eligible teachers can receive an incentive payment of up to €2,000, to be paid in 2025.
• Expansion of upskilling programs, free to teachers, aimed at increasing the number of qualified teachers in high-demand subjects and reducing out-of-field teaching. New programs in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science will complement existing programs in maths, physics, and Spanish. Trinity College Dublin will deliver a new Irish upskilling program for post-primary teachers starting in late 2024, available at no cost to eligible teachers.
• Provision of an additional 1,000 posts of responsibility in the school system, including 500 at post-primary level, for the 2024/25 school year, recognising the vital role of school leaders in enhancing educational outcomes by fostering a positive school environment and empowering educators and learners within their communities.

• Post-primary teachers can provide up to 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term in the subject they are qualified to teach.
• Ensuring initial teacher education providers created 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 under Route 5 with the Teaching Council and provided valuable support to schools as substitute teachers. Currently there are 3,600 registered under Route 5 on the Teaching Council register, the highest number ever.
• Encouraging retired teachers to provide substitute cover. A communications campaign ran in early 2023 resulting in an increase in the number of teaching days provided by retired teachers of 49%, an increase of over 17,000 days between the 2021/22 school year, and the 2022/23 school year. A new communications campaign begun in January this year to encourage retired teachers to return to teaching.
• The 50 day pension abatement waiver, for retirees returning to work, has been extended for a further two years to the end of 2025.
• Restrictions on job-sharing teachers and those on a career break from working as substitutes have been reduced.
• The Teaching Transforms campaign continues to promote the teaching profession encouraging 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

• CAO first preference choices for post-primary teaching increased last year by 14%, in addition to a 9% increase in 2022.
• In 2024, there were 4,271 first preference applications for undergraduate teaching programmes, showing a trend largely consistent with recent years. Analysis of CAO applications spanning from 2017 to 2024 indicates a sustained and robust demand for undergraduate teaching programmes. On average, 6% of first preference applications during the period from 2017 to 2024 were for either primary or post-primary teaching programmes. Specifically, the percentage of first preference applications for undergraduate primary teaching programmes ranged between 2.9% and 3.8%, while those for post-primary undergraduate programmes ranged between 2.4% and 2.9%.
• The ratio of first preference applications through the CAO for level 8 courses in 2022 shows that there were 1.5 applicants per place for education, with a higher demand for primary courses (2) than for post-primary places (1.5). The demand for primary ITE is higher than for all fields except for medicine (3.5) and veterinary medicine (5.2).

Over 3,700 newly qualified teachers have registered with the Teaching Council in 2023, with over 122,000 now on the Teaching Council register.

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.

Ireland’s education system is performing strongly, something that is supported by recent international testing. That is a tribute to the professionalism and dedication of our teachers. We need to continue to support our schools and maintain the high standards that have helped get us to where we are.

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