Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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83. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she is taking to address teacher shortages in schools in north County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34720/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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.

As with other sectors, recruitment challenges exist in some schools including in Dublin and surrounding counties. To address teacher supply issues, the Government has implemented several measures that have led to:

• An increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates (student teachers) between 2018 and 2023, and a 30% increase in the number registered with the Teaching Council since 2017,
• The Teaching Council reported 94,928 teachers registered in the 2016/17 school year increasing to 122,743 teachers registered in 2023/24. Currently, the Teacher Council have reported that there are over 126,000 on the register representing 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.
• Budget 2024 introduced a PME fee refund scheme: a €2,000 bursary for teachers graduating with a Professional Master of Education (PME) in 2024, aimed at encouraging newly qualified teachers to take up roles in primary and post-primary schools, and
• An expansion of upskilling programmes under Budget 2024 and continued in 2025, offering free courses 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.

• 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 campaigns use digital, radio and video media, and 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.
• 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.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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84. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the teacher allocation in a primary school (details supplied) will be examined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34757/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally. At primary level, teachers are allocated to schools at an average of 1 classroom teacher for every 23 pupils, the lowest level ever seen at primary level. DEIS Urban Band 1 schools receive an average allocation of 17:1, 21:1 and 19:1 for junior, senior and vertical schools respectively.

The school referred to by the Deputy is to have a teaching post suppressed in September due to falling enrolments.

The primary school staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year are set out in Circular 0011/2025. These arrangements contain an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. Information and application forms are available in Circular 0011/2025. The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.

The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. The Department's guidance to schools is that the number of pupils in any class is kept as low as possible taking all relevant contextual factors into account (e.g. classroom accommodation, fluctuating enrolment etc.).