Written answer
School Staff
1200. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of vacant teaching posts in primary and post-primary schools at the commencement of each school year since 2021, broken down by county and subject where applicable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60288/26]
Comment on this
The table below shows unused allocations by county for primary and post primary schools from 2021 to 2025. The breakdown by subject is not available, and ETB PP schools are excluded as that data is not available as a county breakdown, or pre-2023.
Data published by the Department for the unmet demand by subject for the 2023/2024 school year is available through the Survey of Teacher Unmet Demand in Post Primary Schools 2023/24 report, at this link: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/f30264cc/Survey_of_Unmet_Demand_School_year_2023_24.pdf
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 (CID) 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.
Unused Allocations 2021-2026