07-07-2025
1,847 teaching posts vacant amid ‘supply crisis' for new school year
More than 1,800
teaching posts
were left vacant this year, while many schools in the
Greater Dublin Area
report that they are struggling to hire qualified staff in the run-up to the new academic year.
Principals say the housing crisis and
cost-of-living issues
mean it is difficult to find teachers in and around the capital, especially in schools located in more
deprived areas
.
A
Department of Education
review of teacher payroll in March of this year found there were 1,847 vacant posts across schools. Most unfilled teacher positions were at primary level (1,228 posts) compared to second level (619).
A similar review conducted in November last year found there were 1,600 vacant posts, indicating that more posts became vacant as the academic year continued.
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Paul Crone, director of the
National Association of Principals and Deputies
, said many Dublin schools, as well as those in other large urban areas and some remote locations, were having difficulty finding qualified teachers in time for the new school year.
He said the situation was especially acute in subjects such as home economics, physics and engineering, while 'post-primary schools nationally are finding it impossible to fill positions to replace teachers on parental leave, paternity leave and even maternity leave'.
'In many of these situations, principals are covering this leave with the teacher extension scheme, supervision and substitution, PME [professional master of education] students or unqualified teachers,' Mr Crone said.
A department spokesperson said, overall, the number of unfilled teaching posts continues to be 'low' with vacancies accounting for 2.5 per cent of all 74,611 allocated posts in schools.
The payroll analysis was a 'snapshot at a point in time' and schools continually recruit throughout the year, the spokesperson added.
In an attempt to boost teacher supply, meanwhile, the department has extended several measures to assist schools in accessing additional teaching and substitute hours.
The 'teaching hours extension scheme' allows teachers on full teaching contracts of 22 hours to provide additional substitution cover of up to 35 additional hours for each term.
In addition, teachers who are job sharing will continue to be able to work as substitute teachers in any school, as long as they are off duty, while teachers who are on a career break can continue to work as substitute teachers at primary and second level.
Minister for Education Helen McEntee
said that while they were not long-term solutions, they will continue to support schools to access qualified teaching for the students in their schools.
'Teachers are at the heart of our schools and we are so lucky to have more teachers working in our schools than we ever have had before. However, in some areas there are teacher supply challenges and I am committed to tackling this,' she said.
Other measures due to come into force include fast-tracking newly qualified teachers into secure permanent contracts and helping teachers who have trained abroad apply for registration in the State.
Teacher unions, however, say a 'supply crisis' is being accentuated by the affordability of the profession for new entrants and unsustainable workloads.
The department said the new public service pay deal will mean salaries for new entrants climb to €46,000 and a maximum of €85,000 per year, which it said compares well internationally.
Some schools have also reported difficulties hiring principals in advance of the school year, with deputy principals obliged to 'act up' as a temporary measure.
While figures for 2025 are not available, last year 160 primary principals (5 per cent of all principals) and 35 second-level principals (7.5 per cent) retired. These numbers have remained relatively steady over recent years.
