Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

994. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given the UK’s severe shortages of qualified physics teachers, affecting more than a quarter of state schools, if she will outline strategies to enhance recruitment and retention of STEM educators, particularly in remote areas such as Blarney, Mallow, and Glanmire. [46817/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

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.

My Department is undertaking steps to address teacher supply across all subjects including STEM subjects, and to this end, I announced a measure to enable teachers gain permanent roles more quickly. Several additional measures are already in place to support teachers who either qualified in the State or abroad and who are working abroad.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers is managed by individual school authorities, of which there are over 3,700. While some schools do experience shortages of some teachers, including in certain subjects at post-primary, the majority of schools have filled their allocated teaching posts. An analysis of the teacher payroll from November 2024 shows that 2.1% of allocated teaching posts were unused. When compared to the number of allocated posts (74,611) overall, the number of unfilled posts is relatively low.

Measures introduced to enhance the recruitment of STEM teacher in recent budgets included a STEM bursary to increase the number of STEM teachers available to post-primary schools, a PME fee refund scheme and an expansion of upskilling programmes including in STEM.

Budget 2025 introduced a €2,000 bursary for student teachers in STEM fields, payable in the final two years of their undergraduate programme, in exchange for a two-year teaching commitment. Work has begun on the implementation of this initiative, which aims to increase the number of STEM teachers.

Registered post-primary teachers, regardless of employment status, can avail of free upskilling programmes including in STEM subjects. These flexible programmes boost teachers’ employment opportunities while addressing subject-specific teacher shortages. Existing upskilling programmes are in high demand subjects such as maths, Spanish, Irish and physics. French, politics & society and computer science will commence this year. Over 980 post-primary teachers have already completed or are currently participating in such upskilling programmes.

Restrictions on jobsharers and those on a career break from working as substitutes in primary and post-primary schools have been eased. This enables post-primary teachers in STEM subjects to provide up to 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term under the Teaching Hours Extension Scheme have been extended to the next school year.

The profession is attractive, with strong demand for teacher education programmes and a 30% increase in registered teachers. Salaries are competitive, starting at €44,879 (primary) and €46,448 (post-primary) and rising to €85,000 under the current pay deal.

Around 6% of first-choice CAO applications from 2017–2024 were for teaching, showing steady demand. In 2024, first preferences rose by 9% for primary and 5% for post-primary teaching. 85% of newly appointed primary teachers in 2024/25 are on full-time, mostly fixed-term contracts. Over 75% of new post-primary teachers are employed full-time. 93% of teachers with 5+ years’ experience hold permanent full-time or pro-rata contracts.

My Department frequently consults and engages closely with stakeholders on teacher supply issues through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions. 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.