Departmental Contracts

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

Questions (417)

Louis O'Hara

Question:

417. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 88 of 27 May 2026, if there has been a review of how continuity of service rules operate in practice for teachers who accrue service across multiple schools; if further reforms are being considered to provide more transparent and accessible pathways to permanency for experienced teachers; if her Department has assessed the extent to which the current CID and redeployment framework can result in teachers remaining in successive fixed-term or substitute employment despite the continued existence of permanent teaching work; if she will provide details of any reviews, assessments or policy proposals undertaken in relation to these matters; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44923/26]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Education and Youth

Where teachers accrue service across multiple schools, service in one school/Education and Training Board (ETB) cannot be aggregated with service in a different ETB or school to qualify for a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID). Because each school/ETB is a separate legal employer, moving employers typically constitutes a break in continuous service.

As previously outlined, an Expert Group was established to consider and report on the level of fixed-term and part-time employment in teaching which gave rise to the provisions outlined in Department Circulars 23/15 and 24/15. These circulars provided for the award of a CID after a period of continuous employment of two years, subject to satisfying the relevant criteria set out in the Circulars.

The provisions set out in these circulars were subsequently amended by Department Circulars 20/26 and 21/26, which subsequently reduced the period of continuous employment of one year, subject to satisfying the relevant criteria set out in the circulars.

There are no further reforms or reviews proposed to be undertaken at this time.

The rules setting out the eligibility for a CID apply to all Oireacthas funded schools/ETB and schools must follow the rules for the award of a CID. Where a teacher is not awarded a CID and they believe that they were entitled to a CID, a teacher may submit an appeal in relation to the decision of the school not to award a CID to the teacher.