Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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871. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has considered the introduction of gender balance quotas, or other targeted measures, to encourage greater male participation in the teaching profession, including in the early years and preschool sector, given the significant gender imbalance and ongoing staffing shortages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45945/25]

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.

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, and
• a 30% increase in the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Council since 2017, and
• I have announced new teacher supply measures in recent months including assisting teachers gain permanent roles more quickly.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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872. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department holds statistics on the gender breakdown of teachers and educators at early years/preschool, primary, secondary, and third level; and if she will provide the most recent available figures. [45946/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My department holds statistics on the gender breakdown of teachers, I have collected data from the Department of Children and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to answer your question completely. I have broken out our responses below:

Department of Children – Early Years/Pre-School

Under pillar 4 of Nurturing Skills, The Workforce Plan for Early Learning and Care and School-Age Childcare 2022-2028, commitments to, amongst other forms of diversity, to promote gender-balance in the workforce. This commitment is important in providing diverse role-models for children, and in ensuring strong connections between Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare services and the families and communities that they serve.

Data collected by Pobal through the Annual Early Years Sector Profile showed 3.57% of the workforce was male in 2024 this is an increase of approximately 1/2% from 2023

Department of Education and Youth – Primary and Post Primary Teachers

As an employer, schools are covered by the Employment Equality Act (as amended). Section 37 of the Act obliges relevant employers in religious-run schools and hospitals to show that any favourable treatment of an employee or prospective employee is limited to the religion ground and action taken against a person is objectively justified by reference to that institution’s aim of protecting its religious ethos and that the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. This provision allows action to be taken against an employee or prospective employee on the religious ground where it is considered as justified in accordance with the provisions of the act.

This raises the threshold for discrimination so that religious run schools and hospitals must now show real damage to their ethos, are precluded from discrimination on any other equality grounds and that any action taken is reasonable and proportionate.

Data collected for the school year 2023/24 showed 31.8% of Post Primary Teachers are male and 68.2% female and 15.6% of Primary teachers are male and 84.4% female. This data is collected annually, and previous years can be found on the Education Indicators Report:

Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science – Third Level

In terms of governance and oversight, Irish higher education institutes (HEIs) are independent and autonomous statutory bodies established under the Universities Act 1997, Technological Universities Act 2018, and the Institutes of Technology Act 1992 to 2006. These acts guarantee the principle of academic freedom and puts in place detailed institutional level governance arrangements for the management, operation, policies, and strategy of the relevant institution.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) publishes data on the gender breakdown of staff by discipline, [such as arts, humanities, social sciences, business and law (AHSSBL), science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) or Other] based on returns provided by HEIs. The HEA publishes this data at the following link: .

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science does not hold statistics on the gender breakdown for delivery staff in the Further Education and Training (FET) sector.