Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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75. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide the full list of available teaching positions in secondary level schools in Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24156/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.

Schools advertise vacant positions on websites as outlined in circular 62/2008. Post primary schools advertise vacant posts in the normal manner in order to employ teachers with the appropriate subject mix to provide for a range of subjects that can be offered to students. It is an important aspect of the annual timetabling process that schools work towards achieving this outcome where possible. Matching the subject mix on offer with the qualifications of individual teachers who typically have more than one subject, can be a challenging task for schools. It is important that schools as employers retain the flexibility to employ teachers with the capacity to teach varied subjects to maintain a wide range of subjects on offer to students.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there if there is a facility where qualified teachers can register with her Department to be contacted for recruitment purposes if a vacancy arises; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24157/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The recruitment and appointment of?teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for individual school authorities, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). In that regard, there are more than 3,700 individual employers (boards of management of primary schools and post-primary schools, as well as ETBs).

As school authorities are the employer of teachers, a central facility for teacher recruitment has not been provided. However, 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.

Additionally, Turas Abhaile, which is an initiative of the post-primary school management bodies and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), assists teachers based abroad to return 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).

Developing creative solutions to address the problems that schools face when it comes to sourcing teachers relies on the support of all stakeholders. My Department continues to engage closely with education stakeholders including schools and their management bodies to develop further, innovative measures to address teacher supply issues.