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.
Like many sectors, recruitment challenges exist in the education sector, especially in urban areas. While most teaching positions are filled, some schools face acute recruitment challenges.
The recruitment and appointment of primary teachers for teaching positions is managed by over 3,000 individual school authorities, independently of the Department.
While my Department does not collate the data requested for primary schools by local authority area, there are data available by county from an analysis of the teacher payroll.
Nationally, the number of unused allocated primary teaching posts according to the most recent analysis in March was 1,228 (3.1%). This analysis has been taken at a point in time of the relevant data, and schools continually recruit throughout the year.
The following table provides the number of allocated and unused teaching posts in primary schools. These data also provide the number of permanent contracts, and fixed term contracts for individual teachers as of March 2025. The table also provides data on the number of substitutes employed in primary schools in each county. There were 16,910 individual substitute teachers employed in primary schools across Ireland during the 2024/25 school year with some substitutes working in more than one county. Please note that the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) allocated posts is provided, while the number of individuals who held permanent or fixed term contracts is provided.
Table: Teacher Supply Data
|
County
|
Payroll (full time equivalents (FTE))
|
Allocated teaching posts (FTE)
|
Unutilised allocated teaching posts (FTE)
|
% Utilised allocated teaching posts
|
Permanent contracts (individuals)
|
Fixed term Contracts (individuals)
|
*Substitutes (individuals)
|
|
Carlow
|
534.5
|
551
|
-16.5
|
97.0
|
582
|
59
|
380
|
|
Cavan
|
682.2
|
697
|
-14.8
|
97.9
|
733
|
83
|
448
|
|
Clare
|
976.8
|
996
|
-19.2
|
98.1
|
1046
|
112
|
579
|
|
Cork
|
4547.82
|
4685.5
|
-137.68
|
97.1
|
4960
|
658
|
2033
|
|
Donegal
|
1411.1
|
1433
|
-21.9
|
98.5
|
1427
|
148
|
634
|
|
Dublin
|
9539.4
|
10051.5
|
-512.1
|
94.9
|
10193
|
1950
|
4379
|
|
Galway
|
2236.88
|
2269.7
|
-32.82
|
98.6
|
2383
|
268
|
1141
|
|
Kerry
|
1199.92
|
1209.7
|
-9.78
|
99.2
|
1238
|
159
|
623
|
|
Kildare
|
1842
|
1935
|
-93
|
95.2
|
1950
|
309
|
1012
|
|
Kilkenny
|
694.4
|
710
|
-15.6
|
97.8
|
768
|
88
|
411
|
|
Laois
|
797.92
|
822.8
|
-24.88
|
97.0
|
842
|
114
|
516
|
|
Leitrim
|
275
|
281
|
-6
|
97.9
|
274
|
33
|
224
|
|
Limerick
|
1723.18
|
1744
|
-20.82
|
98.8
|
1842
|
214
|
869
|
|
Longford
|
424
|
429
|
-5
|
98.8
|
425
|
58
|
290
|
|
Louth
|
1205.5
|
1242
|
-36.5
|
97.1
|
1283
|
164
|
582
|
|
Mayo
|
1095.7
|
1123
|
-27.3
|
97.6
|
1146
|
134
|
626
|
|
Meath
|
1701
|
1755
|
-54
|
96.9
|
1840
|
247
|
1031
|
|
Monaghan
|
555.1
|
563
|
-7.9
|
98.6
|
554
|
57
|
359
|
|
Offaly
|
758.3
|
771
|
-12.7
|
98.4
|
766
|
103
|
486
|
|
Roscommon
|
610.5
|
611.5
|
-1
|
99.8
|
618
|
61
|
492
|
|
Sligo
|
512.9
|
527
|
-14.1
|
97.3
|
540
|
70
|
352
|
|
Tipperary
|
1372.5
|
1395
|
-22.5
|
98.4
|
1462
|
145
|
775
|
|
Waterford
|
982.08
|
1003
|
-20.92
|
97.9
|
1042
|
133
|
455
|
|
Westmeath
|
800.14
|
827
|
-26.86
|
96.8
|
836
|
122
|
529
|
|
Wexford
|
1286.72
|
1323
|
-36.28
|
97.3
|
1378
|
177
|
694
|
|
Wicklow
|
1195.39
|
1233
|
-37.608
|
96.9
|
1255
|
193
|
770
|
*Substitutes may work in more than one county.
To support schools 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,
• a record number of registered teachers; 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 126,000 on the register representing a 33% increase in the number of teachers registered between 2017 and now.
• the highest number of teachers employed. Recent data showed there were over 79,000 qualified teachers employed in Ireland with over 43,000 at primary level including special schools.
• The rate of resignation and retirement is very low by any standard at less than 3%, and is consistent with previous years.?
I recently announced new teacher supply measures including a measure to assist teachers to gain permanent roles more quickly. Additionally, the Teaching Council is to streamline the registration process for teachers who qualified outside of Ireland.?There has been significant investment in measures to support schools to recruit teachers, including:?
• introducing the PME fee refund scheme,
• encouraging retired teachers to work as substitute teachers,
• facilitating those teachers on career break, or job-sharing to work as substitute teachers,
• developing, with the support of the Irish Primary Principals Network, educationposts.ie, a service to support schools’ recruitment efforts,
• promoting the teaching profession through the Teaching Transforms campaign, and?
• commencement of workforce planning for teachers. A new project, supported by UNESCO and the EU Commission, will create a strategic plan for managing Ireland’s teaching workforce. ?The project aims to consider the sustainability of the teaching profession in Ireland, with a focus on the factors that impact teacher supply.?This two-year project will involve consultations with key stakeholders to develop recommendations. These findings will be incorporated into a workforce strategy for the school workforce. ????
Under the Programme for Government there is a commitment to aim to reduce the general pupil teacher ratio at primary level to 19:1 over the term of government and introduce targeted measures in schools with very large classes.
This will build on the progress which has been made by the previous Government. The general average of pupils to teachers in the Primary Staffing Schedule?improved from 26: 1 five years ago to 23 : 1 for the current school year, the lowest ever ratio at primary level. More favourable ratios are implemented for DEIS Urban Band 1 schools. ?Average class sizes in primary schools have improved from 24.1 to 22.2 through the investment we are making in schools.
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 to ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.
