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

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. 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.
• 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.

I am committed to addressing teacher supply and recently announced new measures including to help teachers gain permanent roles more quickly. The Teaching Council is to streamline the registration process for eligible teachers who qualified outside of Ireland, allowing them to apply for registration and complete their induction requirements within the country.

Additionally, Budget 2026 has seen an increase of 1,042 teacher posts, including 860 additional teachers working across various Special Educational Needs settings.

Substitutable leave absences may be filled by schools in several ways. A substitute teacher may be recruited locally by a school, and a claim for payment for the teacher may be submitted to my Department, via the Online Claims System. Alternatively, the absence may be covered by schools under a number of schemes, which are managed locally by schools.

The Supervision and Substitution Scheme allows for the supervision of students during breaks and before and after school and allows for substitution to cover certain categories of teacher absences. With effect from the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, participation in the Supervision and Substitution scheme is compulsory for teachers, save for those who had availed of the opt-out arrangements before this date. All schools therefore provide cover for a significant number of substitutable absences, arising over the school year, through the Supervision and Substitution scheme.

For primary schools, substitute teacher supply panels are also in place. For the 2025/26 school year, 587 substitute teacher supply posts have been allocated to 168 panels, covering 2,905 schools This scheme provides substitute cover for teachers employed in primary schools who are absent on short-term leave. Absences covered by the teacher supply panels are recorded locally by the schools and the schools are not required to claim for the substitutable leave to my Department.

For post-primary schools, the Teaching Hours Extension scheme provides an alternative means of sourcing appropriately qualified substitute teaching cover to support teaching and learning in schools. Teachers on full teaching contracts of 22 hours can provide additional substitution cover, of up to 35 additional hours, for each term designated under the scheme. Absences covered under this scheme are also recorded locally by the schools and the schools are not required to claim for the substitutable leaves covered by this scheme to my Department. This scheme has been extended to the current school year 2025/26.

My Department has also continued the suspension of the usual limits on career break and job-sharing schemes to the current school year 2025/26 to increase the pool of teachers available to undertake substitute work in primary and post-primary schools.

The teaching profession is highly attractive, with strong demand for teacher education programmes with 3,700 newly qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024. 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 2025, first preferences rose by 9% for primary teaching and 5% for post-primary. 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.