556. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Youth to give urgent consideration to an ongoing issue (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65046/26]

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.

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 for 2026 shows a consistent demand for undergraduate ITE programmes. Salaries are competitive, starting at €45,833 and rising to €84,412 under the current pay deal. Few teachers resign, with less than 3% of the teaching workforce resigning or retiring annually from contracted teaching posts.

As of November 2025, just 2.5% (996 posts) of allocated teaching posts in primary were unutilised. The relatively low vacancy rate suggests that the vast majority of schools are well-staffed and able to meet the needs of their students, however, some schools experience recruitment challenges.

While 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), the Government has implemented several measures to address teacher supply issues which 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, has developed 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.

Please find below data on substitute leave from the Department's Online Claims System for the 2025/2026 school year.

Overall:

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.