THREE QUARTERS OF schools that advertised a teaching job in the last six months received zero applications for the position.

New research from the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) found about 60% of schools around the country have teaching vacancies due to ongoing recruitment and retention difficulties.

The research surveyed 101 secondary schools about a number of problem areas and found a myriad of issues around recruitment and its impact on students. 

It found almost one in five schools has been forced to drop subjects due to staff shortages, while over half have been forced to restrict student access to certain subjects.

Over half of surveyed schools lost teachers after the timetable had already been set for the year, while nearly two-thirds had teachers accept a post and later reject it in favour of another school.

59% of schools said they currently have unfilled vacancies in their teaching staff.

Schools said the most difficult subjects to recruit for are Irish, maths, French and guidance counselling.

The most common reasons for teachers not applying for jobs, according to the survey, are down to accommodation costs and availability near schools, as well as the lack of full-hour contracts, and more attractive employment options available outside of teaching. 

84% of those surveyed believe not enough is being done at government level to addresss teacher shortages. 

Schools have been forced to plug this gap with 89% relying on students who are in the second year of their education masters degree. 

Figures obtained by TG4′s current affairs programme 7LÁ from the Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act last year showed that 472 (or 65%) of post-primary schools employed unqualified individuals.

A total of 4,657 unqualified individuals were employed in these schools in the 2023/24 academic year.

TUI is calling on the Department of Education to address this supply crisis using a number of measures including access to full-time jobs for new entrants, halving of the duration of the two-year PME [masters degree in education] and incentives for teachers to return from abroad.

TUI president Anthony Quinn said the findings are “of little surprise” and “the continuing inaction of the department is absolutely startling”.

“It has long been our belief that our policy-makers have been happy to ‘ride out’ the crisis until student demographics at second level change.

“However, this is an insult to the students currently in the system who are losing out in terms of subject options and inconsistency in terms of the teachers standing in front of them.”