1100. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans in Budget 2027 to address the ongoing shortage of primary teachers nationwide, in view of reports that 996 teaching posts remain unfilled and that 7,864 substitute roles are currently being covered by unqualified personnel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59654/26]

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.

As of November 2025, 2.5% of FTE allocations, or 996 posts, at primary level were unutilised.

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.

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, and

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

My Department has recently 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.

Recently regulations were approved to allow teachers who qualified overseas to undertake their induction in the State and incremental credit is also available to teachers returning from abroad, depending on the teaching experience gained.

A comprehensive workforce plan for the education sector, a commitment under the Programme for Government, is in development. Additionally, a project 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.

In the 2024/25 school year, 72,993 days were covered by non-registered substitutes at primary level. This equates to 9.16% of all subbed days at primary level and 1% of overall teaching days at primary level. There are a range of measures in place to improve the availability of substitutes to 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.

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.

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

In addition, communications campaigns have been run to encourage retired teachers to return to teaching and student teachers registered under Route 5 with the Teaching Council provide valuable substitution cover.

I am considering further measures for Budget 2027 to strengthen the teaching workforce and ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.