462. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures her Department is taking to address the current shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in DEIS, special education, and Gaeltacht schools; the incentives or supports which are under consideration to improve teacher retention; when her Department expects to see a reduction in unfilled teaching positions; and if she will make a statem…
Topics / School Staff
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSchool Staff
914 questions from 127 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
914
questions
909 written, 5 oral
127
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
3
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 17 |
| February 2025 | 24 |
| March 2025 | 23 |
| April 2025 | 58 |
| May 2025 | 52 |
| June 2025 | 63 |
| July 2025 | 55 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 54 |
| October 2025 | 18 |
| November 2025 | 61 |
| December 2025 | 51 |
| January 2026 | 45 |
| February 2026 | 65 |
| March 2026 | 37 |
| April 2026 | 40 |
| May 2026 | 54 |
| June 2026 | 71 |
| July 2026 | 34 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 63 |
| October 2026 | 29 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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70
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55
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41
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23
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22
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21
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18
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17
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
464. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reforms being introduced to address staffing shortages and recruitment bottlenecks in frontline public services for education; the way in which these reforms will improve service delivery in counties such as Laois; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70965/25]
296. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures in place to reduce the administrative burden on school principals and deputy principals to allow them to focus more on the educational needs of their school community; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68954/25]
133. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress made by an organisation (details supplied) regarding the pension entitlements and employment conditions of school secretaries and caretakers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68516/25]
136. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the current assault leave guidelines for teachers in schools across the State. [68217/25]
137. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of teachers in primary, post primary and special schools who took assault leave for the years 2020 to date in 2025, in tabular form; and the number which never returned to the school they worked in. [68218/25]
138. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth her plans to review the parameters of assault leave for teachers given in some cases the time period of six months assault leave is insufficient for recovery from an injury. [68219/25]
139. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the financial support available to teachers who leave work on assault leave to compensate them for their medical expenses; and her plans to introduce new compensation measures for medical expenses. [68220/25]
140. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Youth if he will provide an update on the pension parity claim by school secretaries and caretakers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68253/25]
239. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Education and Youth to re-enter talks as a matter of urgency in relation to the school secretaries and caretakers pay entitlements dispute; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67537/25]
266. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the talks regarding school secretaries and caretakers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67717/25]
272. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the difficulty faced by a school (details supplied) in securing an adequate number of French teachers permanently; if she agrees that a frequent change of temporary teacher creates a chaotic learning environment; the assistance that her Department will provide to the school to secure the appropriate number of permane…
276. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress made with (details supplied) regarding the pension entitlements and employment conditions of school secretaries and caretakers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67845/25]
279. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on moves to resolve the school secretaries' and caretakers' dispute. [67938/25]
313. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Youth to urgently review pay and conditions in respect of SNAs and take into consideration the type of work they carry out on a daily basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67030/25]
333. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Youth to urgently address the longstanding issue of pension entitlements for school secretaries and caretakers who have shown extraordinary patience and deserve a just and long-overdue resolution; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67195/25]
338. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that a school (details supplied) has been forced to drop science as a mandatory subject for first year students due to a shortage of teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65138/25]
354. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth if the Irish sign language interpreter who is paid the same rate as an SNA and is employed by a school (details supplied) will be retained. [65253/25]
359. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she or her Department are aware of any reductions to the SNA allocations for primary schools in Dublin northwest, following the most recent circular and guidelines from the NCSE on same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65302/25]
363. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that a school (details supplied) has had to cancel 5th year construction studies during the middle of the term due to the departure of a teacher; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65316/25]
364. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps being taken to increase the availability of teachers for practical Leaving Certificate subjects such as construction studies, metal work and woodwork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65317/25]
365. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Education and Youth if consideration has been given to allowing teachers in high demand subjects to teach across a number of schools in order that subjects can be offered to students across a number of schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65318/25]
366. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of an application for a school (details supplied) for additional special needs assistants. [65329/25]
373. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason an SNA review has been initiated for a school (details supplied). [65358/25]
393. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of additional special needs assistants employed over the years 2020 to 2025, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65609/25]