1225. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the Teaching Council registration requirements impacts teacher recruitment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56207/26]

Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State.

The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2025. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher. The qualification requirements for each route are set down in the Schedule of the Regulations.

As a statutory body, the Teaching Council is mandated by law to properly determine and to authenticate the relevant standards and qualifications of all applicants for registration, including those who have qualified outside of Ireland. My department has no role in relation to individual teacher registration.

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012).

In accordance with Department Circulars 0044/2019 and 0031/2011, schools are required to employ appropriately qualified and registered teachers and ensure that unemployed teachers should be offered employment in preference to those who have retired. All registered teachers, whether qualified in the State of overseas, can be employed in accordance with those circulars.

In accordance with section 1.1 of Department Circular 0031/2011, schools should ensure that people appointed to teach are registered teachers with qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which they are employed.

Although certain schools experience ongoing challenges in recruiting teachers, the majority of allocated teaching posts are filled. As of November 2025, there were over 75,000 teachers employed in schools across Ireland and over 98% of allocated teaching posts were filled.

There is a record number of registered teachers; 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 Teaching Council has reported that there are 129,177 teachers on the register.