Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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444. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of STEM teachers in the secondary education system in each of the past ten years; the steps she is taking to increase the number of STEM teachers in line with the STEM Education Implementation Plan to 2026, and beyond, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34277/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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This Government is fully 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.

My Department has undertaken a number of initiatives to provide for additional teachers in STEM subjects. These have led to:

• an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates between 2018 and 2023.
• The Teaching Council reported there were 94,928 teachers registered in 2016/17 school year and reported 122,743 teachers registered in 2023/24. Currently, there are over 126,000 on the register. This represents a 33 % increase in the number of teachers registered between 2017 and now.
• Recent data showed there were over 79,000 qualified teachers employed in Ireland with over 43,000 at primary level including special schools and over 36,000 in post-primary schools.

• Budget 2025 introduced a €2,000 bursary to increase the number of qualified STEM teachers in post-primary schools payable in the final two years of their undergraduate programme, in exchange for a two-year teaching commitment, and
• an expansion of upskilling programmes under Budget 2024 and continued in 2025, offering free courses, including in STEM, to teachers in high-demand subjects to reduce out-of-field teaching.New programmes in Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science will commence in 2025 and complement existing programmes in maths, physics, and Spanish.

• Budget 2024 introduced a PME fee refund scheme: a €2,000 bursary for teachers graduating with a Professional Master of Education in 2024, aimed at encouraging newly qualified teachers to take up roles in primary and post-primary schools.
• 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. The project aims to consider the sustainability of the teaching profession in Ireland, with a focus on the factors that impact teacher supply.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. The campaign uses digital, radio and video media, and is supported by a dedicated webpage, www.gov.ie/teachingtransforms. Promotion campaigns have been developed to coincide with the CAO closing date and change of mind deadline in recent years.

• With 3,700 newly qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024 and over 126,000 now on the register.
• 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 for February this year showed increases in primary first preferences of 9% and in post-primary of 5%.
• Teacher’s pay has increased significantly in recent years with a new entrants’ current rate of €44,435 for primary and €45,829 for post-primary teachers. 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.