Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
125. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that some schools are now facing up to a 60% crisis around getting a substitute teacher according to an organisation (details supplied), that is 336 schools saying they are finding this very difficult; the action her Department is taking to help alleviate this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61035/25]
View answerThis Government is fully 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. This remains a top priority.
As with other sectors, recruitment challenges exist in some schools. ?To address teacher supply issues including the recruitment of substitutes, 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.?
• The Teaching Council reported 94,928 teachers registered in the 2016/17 school year increasing to 122,743 teachers registered in 2023/24. Currently, the Teacher Council have reported that there are over 127,000 on the register representing a 34% increase in the number of teachers registered between 2017 and now. ????
• Recent data showed there were over 79,000 qualified teachers employed in Ireland with over 43,000 at primary level including special schools.?
There are a range of measures in place to address teacher supply including improving the availability of substitutes to schools.
Substitutable leave absences may be filled by schools in several ways.? A substitute teacher may be recruited locally by a school, and a claim for payment for the teacher may be submitted to my Department, via the Online Claims System. Alternatively, the absence may be covered by schools under a number of schemes, which are managed locally by 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. With effect from the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, participation in the Supervision and Substitution scheme is compulsory for teachers, save for those who had availed of the opt-out arrangements before this date.?All schools therefore provide cover for a significant number of substitutable absences, arising over the school year, through the Supervision and Substitution scheme.?
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.?
My Department has also continued the suspension of the usual limits on career break and job-sharing schemes to the current school year 2025/26 to increase the pool of teachers available to undertake substitute work in primary and post-primary schools.
Communications campaigns have also 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.
The Department is committed to addressing teacher supply introducing new measures to help teachers gain permanent roles more quickly and approving regulations recently to allow teachers who qualified overseas to undertake their induction in the State. Promotion of the teaching profession as a career continues and workforce planning for teachers is underway.
The teaching profession is highly attractive, with strong demand for teacher education programmes with over 1,800 newly qualified primary teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2025 with over 127,000 on the register. Salaries are competitive, currently starting at €44,879 for primary teachers arising to €85,000 under the current pay deal.??? Few teachers resign: less than 3% of the teaching workforce resign or retire annually from contracted teaching posts.
Around 6% of first-choice CAO applications from 2017–2024 were for teaching, showing steady demand. In 2025, first preferences rose by 9% for primary teaching. 85% of newly appointed primary teachers in 2024/25 are on full-time, mostly fixed-term contracts and 93% of teachers with 5+ years’ experience hold permanent full-time or pro-rata contracts.
My Department frequently consults and engages closely with stakeholders including teacher unions on teacher supply issues through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions. 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.?
