Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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645. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to a teacher shortage in a school (details supplied) resulting in an inability to provide adequate support for a child with additional needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30109/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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This Government is committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience, with access to qualified and engaged teachers who are dedicated to supporting their learning. This remains a top priority.

As with other sectors, recruitment challenges exist in some schools. To address teacher supply issues, my Department has implemented several measures that have led to:

- an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates (student teachers)between 2018 and 2023,

- a 33% increase in the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Council between 2017 and now, and

- an increase of 10,408 allocated teaching posts including 5,339 (14.3%) in the primary sector.

The Department continues to analyse the teacher workforce. Recent data showed there were over 79,000 qualified teachers employed in Ireland with over 43,000 at primary level including special schools. This analysis has been undertaken at a specific point, and schools are continuing to recruit.

Retirements and resignations remain low with less than 3% of contracted teachers resigning or retiring annually.

I am committed to addressing teacher supply and recently announced new teacher supply measures including to help teachers gain permanent roles more quickly. Additionally, the Teaching Council is to streamline the registration process for eligible teachers who qualified outside of Ireland, allowing them to apply for registration and complete their induction requirements within the country.

Measures introduced in recent budgets included the introduction of a PME fee refund scheme. This €2,000 payment for teachers graduating with a Professional Master of Education (PME) in 2024 is aimed at encouraging newly qualified teachers to take up roles in primary and post-primary schools.

In addition, other key initiatives introduced include

- the continued suspension of the usual limits on career break and job-sharing schemes to 2024/25 school year.

- enabling newly qualified teachers (NQTs) employed in primary schools to complete the Droichead process while employed on a Supply Panel or Principal Release Time Post.

- Commencement of workforce planning for teachers. A new project, supported by UNESCO and the EU Commission, will create a strategic plan for managing Ireland’s teaching workforce. This two-year project will involve consultations with key stakeholders to develop recommendations.

- Development of the Teaching Transforms campaign, which promotes the teaching profession and encourage students to follow a career in teaching.

A range of teacher education actions are funded by the department under the Policy on Gaeltacht Education to increase the supply of teachers available to teach effectively through the medium of Irish in Gaeltacht and Irish-medium schools.

- Funding is provided for an Irish-medium B.Ed. for primary teachers, which is delivered by Marino Institute of Education. Two cohorts – 68 students in total – have graduated from this programme since its establishment in 2019, and 165 students are currently enrolled on the programme.

- Funding is also provided for an M.Ed. in Irish-medium and Gaeltacht Education for practising teachers and school leaders and this programme is currently being delivered by Trinity College Dublin. 48 students are enrolled on this programme for the 2024-2025 academic year.

These measures reflect the commitment to ongoing investment in the education system to address teacher supply.The measures are designed to ensure a steady flow of qualified teachers into the profession.

The Department recognises the importance of providing well-timed and appropriate support to pupils with identified learning needs.

- The Special Education Teaching 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. 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 schools 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 management to utilise the allocation to meet the needs of those students with special educational needs.

Teaching is an attractive career choice:

- With 1,846 newly qualified primary teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024.

- 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. First preference data from the CAO published recently showed increases in primary first preferences of 9%.

- Teacher’s pay has increased significantly in recent years. In 2013, a new entrant’s starting pay was €30,702 that rose over successive pay agreements to the current rate of €44,435 for primary. The new public service pay agreement means further increases to €46,000, which represents an over 46% increase on the 2013 salary.The new pay deal will mean that teachers’ salary will increase to a maximum of €85,000 per year which compares well internationally.

The Department frequently consults and engages closely with stakeholders on issues such as teacher supply through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions with teacher unions, and actively considers further measures to address teacher supply issues.I am considering further measures to strengthen the teaching workforce and ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.