The data, acquired within the scope the Freedom of Information Act, shows that 98 percent of primary schools (3,029) employed unqualified individuals, amounting to 8,883 people, while 65 percent of post-primary schools (472) employed 4,657, excluding post-primary education and Training Board schools.

Under the Education (Amendment of Section 30 of the Teaching Council) Act 2012, schools are allowed to employ unregistered teachers for up to five consecutive days in urgent or unforeseen circumstances.

In response to the findings, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said that it is “deeply concerned by the revelation that a substantial number of unqualified substitutes has responsibility for curriculum delivery in primary and special schools during the 2023/2024 school year”.

“This is yet another stark reminder of the ongoing shortage crisis, which continues to place enormous pressure on schools”, INTO added. “The scale of this crisis demands an urgent- whole-of-government response.” The union is calling for several actions to address the issue, including increasing teacher training placements by 300 per year and launching targeted international recruitment campaign.

Furthermore, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) stated that teaching is no longer seen as an attractive and sustainable career due to insecure contracts, high living costs, and long salary scales. “Newly qualified teachers are struggling to get secure contracts and affordable accommodation”, ASTI noted. “The salary scale for these teachers is excessively long, and second-level schools are under resourced. Teachers face too-large class sizes and the resulting heavy workload.”

The Department of Education has stresses that teachers must be registered with the Teaching Council to receive a state salary. “If a teacher is not registered for the route they are teaching but is qualified under another route, they may be paid the unqualified rate of pay, although they are registered as a teacher”, it concluded. However, in limited circumstances, non-registered individuals may be employed for up to five days.