1394. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth her proposals to attract primary school teachers who were trained in Ireland but now work abroad back to the teaching roles in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58812/26]

This Government is 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.

An analysis of payroll data from November 2025 shows there are over 39,000 teachers employed in primary schools across the country and over 97% of allocated primary teaching posts are filled nationwide.

Teaching is an attractive profession, and there are a significant number of newly qualified teachers graduating annually. Over 1,800 newly qualified primary teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2025 and CAO data shows a consistent demand for undergraduate ITE programmes. Salaries are competitive, starting at €45,379 and rising to €83,576 under the current pay deal. Few teachers resign, with less than 3% of the teaching workforce resigning or retiring annually from contracted teaching posts.

While the majority of allocated teaching posts are filled, certain schools experience ongoing challenges in recruiting teachers. Attracting qualified teachers, whether working overseas or not, is required to address teacher supply issues, and several measures are already in place to support teachers who are working abroad to return to Ireland.

The Department of Education and Youth currently has a scheme in place which allows for teachers who work in an Oireachtas-funded teaching post to apply for incremental credit with respect to previous teaching service which they accrued while teaching outside of Ireland. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to primary teachers are set out in the Department’s Circular 10/2001. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers were agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC).

Following on from the Department’s Action Plan on Teacher Supply, the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) operates an online portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions. The portal facilitates the matching of demand and supply and provides an efficient and user-friendly recruitment process for both schools and teachers, including teachers working abroad who wish to apply for posts here.

This Government has implemented several measures to address teacher supply issues more generally that have led to:

- an increase of 20% in initial teacher education graduates (student teachers) between 2018 and 2023, and

- an over 30% increase in the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Council since 2017.

My Department recently approved regulations to allowteachers who qualified overseasto undertake theirinduction in the State. This will help to encourage teachers abroad to take up teaching roles in Ireland.

My Department this year published revised arrangements for the award of a Contract of Indefinite Duration to teachers; teachers taking up their first contract in a viable post will be eligible for a permanent position after one year, subject to successful re-appointment through a competitive process.

A comprehensive workforce plan for the education sector, a commitment under the Programme for Government, is in development. Additionally,aproject focused on strategic workforce planning for teachers in Ireland, led by UNESCO and supported by the EU Commission, is developing recommendations for addressing the main factors affecting teacher supply in Ireland.

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.