Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
440. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a schedule of campaigns over the last five years aimed at attracting teachers working abroad to come back to work in Ireland; the duration of the campaigns; the format they took; the total expenditure associated with each; a schedule of external parties used in respect of the campaigns; and the jurisdictions in which campaigns were run. [73448/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis 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.
The recruitment and appointment of teachers is managed by individual school authorities. There are over 3,700 individual school authorities, responsible for this process, including boards of management at primary and post-primary schools, as well as Education and Training Boards (ETBs). As such, the Department of Education and Youth does not engage directly in the recruitment of teachers.
An analysis of teacher payroll data, as of March 2025, shows there are 79,225 teachers employed in our schools across the country with 43,221 at primary level including special schools and 36,004 in post-primary schools. In October 2023 there were 4,672 teachers (3.9% of registered teachers) showed no signs of activity in the State. However, the data available does not provide information on the location of these teachers, or whether they would be in a position to return to work in the State or if they are in a teaching role outside the State.
A number of measures are in place to support teachers who are qualified abroad and those who are working abroad to work in Ireland. Regulations were approved recently to allow teachers who qualified overseas to undertake their induction in the State. This measure seeks to enhance the supply of teachers available to schools and is particularly relevant for Irish teachers who have studied and qualified abroad and who may wish to return to the Irish education sector.
Additionally, incremental credit can be awarded in respect of teaching service, both within and outside the EU. Where a school satisfies the criteria set out in the circulars to have service at that school recognised for incremental credit, an award of incremental credit can be made.
The criteria for the award of incremental credit are set out in the Department’s Circulars 10/2001 for Primary teachers, 29/2007 and 29/2010 for post-primary teachers. The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC).
As well as these measures, my Department funds communications campaigns and supports such as Turas Abhaile, and educationpost.ie. The Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) operate educationposts.ie, which is a portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions. The portal facilitates the matching of demand and supply and provides an efficient and user-friendly recruitment process for both schools and teachers, including teachers working abroad who wish to apply for posts here.
Turas Abhaile is an initiative of the post-primary school management bodies and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) which has assisted teachers based abroad to return to teach in Ireland since September 2019. Turas Abhaile matches teachers with specific vacancies and participating schools facilitate online interviews to suit the preferences of candidates.
The Department continues to promote the teaching profession through development of the Teaching Transforms campaign, which promotes the teaching profession and encourages students to follow a career in teaching. Promotion campaigns have been developed to coincide with the CAO closing date and change of mind deadline in recent years. The campaign is supported by a dedicated webpage, which includes useful information for teachers seeking to return to work in Ireland or who have qualified outside the State (www.gov.ie/teachingtransforms).
The Department provides a range of measures to address teacher supply. The Department announced new measures in 2025 including assisting teachers gain permanent roles more quickly. In addition, measures expanding upskilling programmes, introducing a STEM bursary, improving the availability of substitutes and the development of teacher workforce planning are being undertaken.
The Department will continue to consider further measures to strengthen the teaching workforce and ensure that schools have the support needed to provide an excellent education for every student.
