OVER 13,500 UNQUALIFIED individuals were employed to teach at Irish schools last year, new figures have shown.

The figures were obtained by TG4′s current affairs programme 7LÁ from the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act.

In total, 3,029 Irish primary schools – or 98% of such schools – employed over 8,880 unqualified individuals in the last academic year, which spanned from 2023 to 2024. Irish post-primary schools fared better in this regard, but still 472 (or 65%) employed a total of 4,657 unqualified individuals in the same time frame.

Between the primary and post-primary schools, 13,540 people who were unqualified to teach at Irish schools were employed in 3,501 of such schools across the country.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) and the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) both expressed concern at the figures of unqualified individuals being employed in a teaching capacity in Irish schools.

INTO said that these figures are another example of the ongoing teacher shortage, and issued a call for numerous measures to attempt to deal with the crisis. General Secretary of the organisation, John Boyle, said that an extra 300 places should be added per year on initial teacher education courses until the shortage has been dealt with.

He also highlighted a number of problems faced by teachers, such as housing, living costs, and working conditions that must be dealt with to retain existing teachers. He called for a government response that would target recruitment and economic measures for teachers.

Similarly, the ASTI said that the data “confirms that there is an unprecedented number of teacher vacancies in Irish schools”. It said that newly qualified teachers are struggling to get secure contracts and affordable accommodation, and second-level schools are under-resourced.

“A key factor behind the teacher supply crisis in Ireland is that teaching is no longer seen as an attractive and sustainable career,” the association said.

The figures included are in respect of individuals or substitutes who worked within a teaching capacity in Irish schools, not including post-primary ETB schools. TG4′s report also highlights that as per a 2012 amendment to the Teaching Council Act, a school can employ someone not registered as a teacher with the Teaching Council for up to five consecutive days in urgent circumstances.