Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2026
754. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative in place that seeks to encourage the increase in the number of teachers at a primary school level that can teach entirely through Irish; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41577/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra755. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative in place that seeks to encourage the increase in the number of teachers at a secondary school level that can teach entirely through Irish; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41578/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra756. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative that seeks to address the shortage of teachers in Gaelscoileanna; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41579/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra757. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative that seeks to address the shortage of teachers in Gaelcholáistí; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41580/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra925. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of the scale of teacher shortages in Gaelscoileanna (details supplied); the extent to which she considers this a concern; the steps she is taking to address the problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43470/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 754, 755, 756, 757 and 925 together.
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.
There are more qualified teachers than ever working in Ireland. As of March 2026, there are over 74,000 teachers employed in schools across the country, including 34,396 at primary level and 40,283 at post-primary level. This analysis found that just 0.1% of allocations (24 posts) in primary and 1.4% of allocations (477 posts) in post-primary were unutilised, with 0% of allocations unutilised in IME schools.
Teaching is an attractive profession, and there are a significant number of newly qualified teachers graduating annually. Over 3,600 newly qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2025 and CAO data shows a consistent demand for undergraduate ITE programmes. Salaries are competitive, currently starting at €45,379 (primary) and €46,948 (post-primary) and rising to €83,576 and €85,411 respectively under the current pay deal. Few teachers resign, with less than 3% of the teaching workforce resigning or retiring annually from contracted teaching posts.
My department published the Policy for Irish-Medium Education outside of the Gaeltacht in November 2025. The supply of teachers with the required skills and language proficiency to teach through the medium of Irish is highlighted as a priority under the policy. The policy commits to providing supports for the establishment of both a Professional Master of Education (PME) through the medium of Irish for primary teachers and a PME through the medium of Irish for post-primary teachers to cater for the east of the country.
A new PME through the medium of Irish is now available for primary teachers in Marino Institute of Education, with support from the department under the policy. Two teachers on secondment are being provided, as well as bursaries for students. It is intended to prioritise resources to support the delivery of a PME for post-primary teachers in the east of the country.
This work builds on actions already being taken by the department under the Policy on Gaeltacht Education. Under this policy, funding is provided for an Irish-medium Baitsiléir san Oideachas (B.Oid.) for primary teachers, currently being delivered by Marino Institute of Education, and for a Máistir san Oideachas (M.Oid.) for practicing teachers and school leaders, currently being delivered by Trinity College Dublin. Supports in the form of teachers on secondment and bursaries are also provided to support the Máistir Gairmiúil san Oideachas (MGO, an Irish-medium PME) for post-primary teachers in the University of Galway (UG).
UG and University College Cork have been granted approval to seek accreditation from the Teaching Council for MGO programmes for primary teachers through Irish. Both programmes are currently undergoing the Teaching Council accreditation process.
To address teacher supply issues more generally, 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, and
• over 30% increase in the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Council since 2017.
A number of measures have been introduced to address subject-specific teacher shortages:
- Upskilling programmes: free upskilling programmes for teachers are offered in high-demand subjects: Irish, French, politics & society, and computer science maths, physics, and Spanish.
- STEM Bursary: a €2k annual bursary for student teachers in STEM fields during the final two years of their undergraduate teacher education, with a requirement to complete at least 2 years of teaching post-qualification in a recognised post-primary school.
My Department has recently published revised arrangements for the award of a Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID) to 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.
Recently regulations were approved to allow teachers who qualified overseas to undertake their induction in the State and incremental credit is also available to teachers returning from abroad, depending on the teaching experience gained.
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 developing recommendations for addressing the main factors affecting teacher supply in Ireland. 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.
