Written answer
School Staff
There were 4,500 primary and 1,619 post-primary job-sharers in 2025/26; substitute-teaching restrictions remain suspended through 2026/27, but subbing data is unavailable.
273. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Education and Youth the estimated number of teachers currently participating in job-sharing arrangements at primary and post-primary level; and the number who availed of substitute teaching opportunities on their non-teaching days in each of the past three school years. [66596/26]
Comment on this
The Job-Sharing Scheme for teachers is contained in Chapter 8 of the Department’s Circular Letter Circular 0054/2019 titled ‘Leave Schemes for Registered Teachers Employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools’. Paragraph 11.1(a) of the Job-Sharing Scheme states a teacher may not engage in any substitute teaching whilst job sharing.
In response to issues raised in relation to teacher supply, the restriction on engaging in substitute teaching, imposed in the Job-Sharing Scheme, has been suspended on a temporary basis over the last number of years.
Information Note TC/IN 0001/2026 has recently been published by my Department and provides for the extension of this temporary arrangement until the end of the 2026/27 school year.
For the 2025/26 school year there were 4,500 job sharers at primary level, and 1,619 job sharers at post-primary level. Data for the 2026/27 school year has not yet been finalised. Data on job-sharing teachers subbing on their non-teaching days is not readily available.