Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the difficulty faced by a school (details supplied) in securing an adequate number of French teachers permanently; if she agrees that a frequent change of temporary teacher creates a chaotic learning environment; the assistance that her Department will provide to the school to secure the appropriate number of permanent staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67756/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, 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.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers is managed by individual school authorities, of which there are over 3,700. While most teaching positions are filled, some schools face significant recruitment challenges. Payroll data from March 2025 shows the number of unfilled teaching posts remains low. Analysis of the teacher payroll shows 1.8% of allocations (621 posts) in post-primary were unutilised. This relatively low vacancy rate suggests that the vast majority of schools are well-staffed and able to meet the needs of their students.

Officials of my Department have contacted the school referred to in the Deputy’s question and have been informed the school has an adequate number of teachers to meet the demand for French.

My Department has introduced a range of measures to address teacher supply including in specific subject areas. Registered post-primary teachers, regardless of employment status, can avail of free upskilling programmes including French. These flexible programmes boost teachers’ employment opportunities while addressing subject-specific teacher shortages. The French Upskilling Programme commenced in Trinity College Dublin in September 2025 with 35 teachers.

Restrictions on jobsharers and those on a career break from working as substitutes in schools have been eased. Under the Teaching Hours Extension Scheme post-primary teachers can provide up to 35 additional hours of substitute cover per term including in science. All these substitution measures have been extended to the current school year.

The profession is attractive, with strong demand for teacher education programmes, almost 1,800 newly qualified post-primary teachers registered with the Teaching Council and over 127,000 teachers on the Teaching Council register in 2025. Salaries are competitive, starting at €46,448 for post-primary teachers 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 5% for post-primary teaching.? 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. ?Further measures to strengthen the teaching workforce will be considered to ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.