Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the expenditure on recruitment campaigns of international hiring of teachers; and to compare this with the estimated cost of teacher training for graduates who leave the State within three years of qualification, for each of the past five years. [61179/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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491. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number and proportion of newly qualified primary and post-primary teachers who take up teaching posts in Ireland within one year of qualification, versus those who emigrate or do not enter the Irish teaching workforce, for each year since 2010 to date in 2025; and the data sources used such as Teaching Council registration, payroll records or Revenue data. [61192/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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492. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if crossdepartmental analysis has been conducted comparing the cost of teacher education with retention and attrition rates; and if there is an estimate of the fiscal impact of teacher emigration. [61193/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 490 to 492, inclusive, together.

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 for this Government.

My Department has undertaken an analysis of teacher payrolls to gain a better understanding of the workforce. The analysis found that over 97% of allocated teaching posts were filled. There were over 79,000 teachers employed nationwide in our schools, over 43,000 at primary level including special schools and 36,000 in post-primary schools.

Officials of my Department will continue to improve the data available for the teacher workforce including the level of utilised and unutilised allocated posts across different sectors of the school system. The recruitment and appointment of teachers, however, is managed by individual school authorities. There are over 3,700 individual school authorities, responsible for this process, including boards of management at primary and post-primary schools, as well as Education and Training Boards (ETBs).

An analysis of the Register of Teachers was undertaken in 2023 found that of the over 188k teachers then on the Register, 5,187 were not economically active in the State. However, as this was not a longitudinal study, it is not possible to provide data on the number of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who were employed in schools after graduation. The Teaching Council have reported that almost 98% of NQTs entered onto the Register upon graduation in 2024.

My Department does not engage in the recruitment of teachers. While there are communications campaigns and supports provided for those who wish to teach in the State, such as Turas Abhaile, or educationpost.ie, these are not provided directly by my Department. Turas Abhaile, an initiative of the post-primary school management bodies and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD), assists teachers based abroad to return teach in Ireland since September 2019. Turas Abhaile matches teachers with specific vacancies and participating schools facilitate online interviews to suit the preferences of candidates.

Additionally, as data on NQTs’ employment activity post-graduation is not available, it is not possible to conduct an analysis of the expenditure on recruitment campaigns of international hiring of teachers. It should be noted that the teacher education programmes are provided by both State-funded and provide provers. As such the costs of teacher education programmes are not borne exclusively the Exchequer.

To address the challenges that exist in some schools, I announced that teachers will be able to gain permanent roles more quickly and also recently approved regulations to allow teachers who qualified overseas to undertake their induction in the State.

While the majority of allocated teaching posts are filled, I recognise that acute challenges exist, and to this end, my Department has introduced a number of initiatives. A STEM bursary scheme was announced in Budget 2026, over 1,000 additional teaching posts announced in Budget 2026 and my Department is developing a strategic workforce plan for the school workforce.

The teaching profession is highly attractive, with strong demand for teacher education programmes with 3,600 newly qualified teachers registered in 2025. CAO first preference data showed continued increases in teaching programmes of 9% in primary and 5% in post-primary at the closing deadline in February of this year. Salaries are competitive, starting at €44,879 (primary) and €46,448 (post-primary) and rising to €85,000 under the current pay deal.

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 that will ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.