Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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990. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will outline the steps being taken to ensure greater access to secure, full-time positions, for newly qualified and unemployed teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46771/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I know that teachers experience challenges that were not so acute for previous generations, including casualisation within the teaching profession. That is why I have announced that to help teachers to gain permanent roles more quickly, we will develop a new agreement which will see teachers who have taught for one year and successfully interview for a viable post in that school the following year, immediately getting offered a permanent contract at the start of that year.

I hope that being able to gain a permanent contract a year earlier will help teachers in applying for mortgages and placing their careers on a more stable footing much sooner than before. While I hope that this will be of significant benefit to younger teachers in particular, the new arrangements will apply to all teachers who satisfy the relevant criteria.

Officials of my department are engaging with the education partners to finalise the details of this new agreement, following which the details will be published by my department.