Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2026
422. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of teachers who have resigned from the teaching profession in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, distinguishing between primary and post-primary level and between resignations and retirements, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44981/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra432. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of teachers who have resigned from the teaching profession in schools in Cork city and county in each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026, distinguishing between primary and post-primary level and between resignations and retirements, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44991/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 422 and 432 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 Irish schools, including 40,283 at primary level and 34,396 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.
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.
The OECD has reported that across certain OECD members, 1–3% of teachers retire annually, while non-retirement attrition varies widely, reaching up to 10% in some countries. The OECD reported that Ireland has one of the lowest teacher turnover rates internationally with 1.4% retiring and just 0.9% resigning each year.
While data for retirements in 2025 or 2026 is not yet available, data for 2023 and 2024 is published and available at this link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/teacher-retirement-statistics/.
The Department does not currently hold data on non-retirement resignations.
