Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
505. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of new recruits in the teaching sector in each of the years 2022 to 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3580/26]
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.
There are more qualified teachers than ever working in schools with over 97% of allocated teaching posts filled according to an analysis of the teacher payroll in March 2025. This analysis found that there were over 79,000 teachers employed nationwide in our schools with over 43,000 at primary level including special schools and 36,000 in post-primary schools. Teacher attrition remains low, with fewer than 3% resigning or retiring annually, one of the lowest rates in the OECD.
As with other sectors of the economy, recruitment challenges exist. To address these, several targeted measures have been implemented that have led to an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates between 2018 and 2023.
The Teaching Council publishes an annual report including data on registrations for newly qualified teachers. Annual reports are available for the years 2022 to 2024. The annual report for 2025 is not available yet. The following table provides data published to date for the years 2022 to 2024.
|
Year |
Number of Newly Qualified Teacher Registrations |
|
2022 |
3603 |
|
2023 |
3792 |
|
2024 |
3702 |
In addition, there has been
• an over 30% increase in the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Council between 2017 and 2025, and
• an increase in allocated teaching posts of 11,752 between 2018/19 and 2024/25. Additionally, Budget 2026 has seen an increase of 1,042 teacher posts, including 860 additional teachers working across various Special Educational Needs settings.
A range of teacher supply measures have been introduced to help encourage more teachers into the profession. It was announced in 2025 that newly appointed teachers will be able to gain permanency more quickly. Additionally, my Department has introduced a STEM bursary and expanded post-primary teacher upskilling programmes which are in addition to more flexible substitution measures, extended to the current school year. The Teaching Transforms campaign continues to promote the teaching profession and encourages students to follow a career in teaching. A campaign coinciding with the CAO closing date in February is currently under way.
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 in the process of developing recommendations for addressing the main factors affecting teacher supply in Ireland. This two-year project has involved extensive consultations with key stakeholders to develop recommendations with a report due in 2026. The recommendations put forward in the context of the project will form the basis for the development by my Department of a strategic workforce plan for the teaching workforce in Ireland. Teaching is an attractive career choice with increases in CAO first preferences for both primary (9%) and post-primary (5%) teaching programmes in 2025. Salaries are competitive, starting at €44,879 (primary) and €46,448 (post-primary) and rising to €85,000 under the current pay deal. Around 6% of first-choice CAO applications from 2017–2024 were for teaching, showing steady demand.
My Department frequently consults and engages closely with stakeholders on issues such as teacher supply through industrial relations forums, sectoral meetings, and direct discussions with teacher unions. 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.
