Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 April 2026
228. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth ; if her Department has assessed the impact of current rules regarding recognition of overseas teaching experience on the ability of qualified teachers to return to Ireland; and if any reforms are planned in light of ongoing teacher shortages. [27808/26]
View answerUnder the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State.
The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2025. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher. The qualification requirements for each route are set down in the Schedule of the Regulations.
Fully qualified teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland are eligible to apply for registration with the Teaching Council. The qualifications of these teachers are assessed on an individual basis for the purposes of registering as a teacher. All applications are assessed in line with and given the benefit of EU Directive 2005/36 including a holistic approach to assessment which considers all relevant qualifications and teaching experience.
Qualifications are assessed for comparability with graduates of initial teacher education programmes accredited by the Teaching Council. A person deemed to be a fully qualified teacher has completed a recognised teacher education qualification and programme of induction in the country in which they qualified and can provide an official letter from the relevant teacher registration body/ Competent Authority or Ministry of Education confirming recognition as a fully qualified teacher in that State/ country. More information is available on the Council’s website here: www.teachingcouncil.ie/i-am-applying-to-register/qualified-outside-of-ireland/
All applications are assessed on an individual, case by case basis. The assessments are holistic and include the individual combination of relevant qualifications, teaching experience, and lifelong learning. The relevant criteria are equally applied to all applicants.
Ahead of a teacher returning to a post in Ireland or taking up a post in Ireland, the department is unable to confirm if a teacher’s prior service will attract incremental credit. A teacher must be on payroll with either a department paid school or ETB paid school in order to apply for incremental credit. Department circulars set out the criteria that allow teachers claim incremental credit for prior teaching service. Also, if a teacher is based in an Education & Training Board (ETB) school, that ETB are more than likely responsible for processing an incremental credit application for their teachers. Similarly, if the teacher is based in a directly paid Department post, then the Department is more than likely responsible for processing the incremental credit application.
It is important to note, that there is no automatic entitlement to incremental credit in recognising prior service, but many teachers qualify for it based on the criteria in the Department’s incremental credit circulars.
The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC). The criteria required to have incremental credit awarded to teachers are set out in the Department of Education Primary Circular 10/2010 and Post Primary Circulars 29/2007 and 29/2010.There are more qualified teachers than ever working in schools and an analysis of payroll data as of November 2025 shows there are over 75,000 teachers employed in schools across the country. The number of unfilled teaching posts remains low and over 98% of teaching posts were filled in November 2025; this analysis found that just 2.5% of allocations (996 posts) in primary and 0.7% of allocations (247 posts) in post-primary were unutilised nationwide.?
While the relatively low vacancy rate suggests that the vast majority of schools are well-staffed and able to meet the needs of their students, acute challenges exist, and a number of targeted measures have, or are being implemented to address teacher supply issues.
These include improving tenure for 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.
In addition, free upskilling programmes for teachers are offered in high-demand subjects: Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science, maths, physics, and Spanish. These flexible programmes boost teachers’ employment opportunities while addressing subject-specific teacher shortages.
A project?focused on strategic workforce planning for teachers in Ireland,?led?by UNESCO and?supported?by?the EU Commission,?is developing?recommendations for addressing the main factors affecting teacher supply in Ireland. These recommendations will form the basis for the development by my department of a strategic plan for the teaching workforce in Ireland.??
Increases in teaching posts have outpaced student population growth in both primary and post-primary schools. Since 2018/2019, there has been an increase of 15% in teaching posts at primary and 20% at post-primary.
Budget 2026 has seen an increase of 1,042 teacher posts, including 860 additional teachers working across various Special Educational Needs settings.
My department is considering further measures to strengthen the teaching workforce and ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.
