312. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of primary teachers facing difficulty in obtaining secure, long-term employment in areas outside of Dublin. [67091/26]

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, there were over 39,000 full-time equivalent teachers employed in primary schools across the country and 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 €45,833 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.??

My Department has recently published revised arrangements for the award of a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID) to teachers, which fulfilled a promise made by my predecessor last year.?The revised criteria allow for teachers to gain a permanent contract through the award of a CID after one year where they have completed a year of continuous service, where the school has a viable post available, and where the teacher has been re-appointed by the school following a competitive recruitment process.?The ability to access a CID a year earlier will help teachers to place their careers on a more stable footing much sooner than before, providing teachers with the certainty that they need.

The revised arrangements for the award of a CID have been introduced following extensive engagement with the Education Partners and it is not currently intended to make any further amendments to the eligibility criteria for the award of a CID.

The recruitment and appointment of?teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for individual school authorities, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012). In that regard, there are more than 3,700 individual employers (boards of management of primary schools and post-primary schools, as well as ETBs).

As school authorities are the employer of teachers, a central facility for teacher recruitment has not been provided. However, 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 was developed in conjunction with the National Association of Principal and Deputy Principals (NAPD). The portal facilitates the matching of demand and supply and provides an efficient and user-friendly recruitment process for both schools and teachers.

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.

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 published recommendations for addressing the main factors affecting teacher supply in Ireland. The project report, which was launched on 7th September 2026, can be accessed online at the following link: unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000399288.locale=en>

Recommendations include measures focused on subject-specific shortages at post-primary, substitute teachers, special education, Irish Medium Education, DEIS primary, cost-of-living concerns, data management and diversity in the profession.

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.