All new teachers will graduate in the coming weeks and should be planned to address ongoing teaching supply issues in accordance with the plan.
Teachers with primary qualifications starting in September this year will receive permanent teaching contracts.
Teachers’ unions describe the current recruitment and education retention issues as “crisis”, especially in Dublin, which has led schools to be able to abandon certain disciplines or hire unlimited teaching staff to block absenteeism.
Education Secretary Helen McEntee proposed a new plan.
Once the new teacher completes his induction, teaches for one year and successfully takes on the teaching role of the following year, a contract will be provided to the new teacher.
Ms. McEntee also works with the Teaching Committee to allow qualified teachers outside Ireland to register and complete teaching induction in Ireland.
The announcement begins today with the first of its annual Teachers Union Conference in 2025.
There are now over 78,000 qualified teachers in Ireland, including over 35,000 working in junior schools.
According to the Ministry of Education, this is the largest number of teachers in the history of the country.
Ms. Ms. Mcentee said: “For their sake, I am determined to address work safety and make teaching more attractive and sustainable careers.
“Making qualified teachers trained outside Ireland easier to apply for registration and start a career in Ireland and speeding up the chances of newly qualified teachers to obtain permanent contracts are important steps in this process.”
She said allowing new qualified teachers to obtain permanent contracts a year ago will help teachers make their careers more stable.
Ms McEntee added: “This will give teachers the certainty they need, especially when applying for a mortgage.”
The number of students’ teachers graduates increased by 20% between 2018 and 2023, and the number of teachers registered with the Teaching Committee has increased by 30% since 2017.
However, there are shortages of teachers in many schools, especially in the Dublin region, which previously prompted calls for “Dublin allowance”.
What appeared last month was that during the 2023/24 school year, 98% of Irish schools hired unqualified individuals to replace teachers.
When qualified substitute teachers cannot be purchased, school principals increasingly have to rely on people who are not registered with the teaching committee.
As students prepare for graduation, annual recruitment drivers for schools in Australia and other overseas countries often start annually, providing Irish teachers with visa fees, travel costs and competitive salaries to relocate.
