School Staff
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-24
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Hildegarde Naughton (FG), Galway West

I thank the Senator and welcome the opportunity to discuss the teacher relocation proposal. Any initiative that seeks to ensure that the educational needs of children are prioritised is to be welcomed.
The recruitment and appointment of teachers for teaching positions is managed by individual school authorities. There are over 3,700 individual school authorities responsible for this process, including boards of management at primary and post-primary levels as well as the education and training boards, ETBs. There are more qualified teachers than ever working in schools, with an analysis of payroll data from November 2025 showing that there are 75,000 teachers employed in schools across the country. This analysis found that over 98% of allocated teaching posts were filled nationwide and, as of November 2025, there were 0.7 unused allocations at post-primary level. Teacher attrition remains low, with fewer than 3% resigning or retiring annually, which is one of the lowest rates in the OECD.
The Department received a report from the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI, in March 2023 proposing a national relocation scheme for teachers.
The scheme would allow teachers to identify preferred locations for relocation through a portal and potentially swap positions with teachers in those areas. This is distinct from a redeployment scheme, which is designed to move surpluses in the system. This proposed relocation scheme may be beneficial for those who are commuting considerable distances, as the Senator has highlighted, and for the environment more generally. However, a number of challenges are apparent. Officials from my Department met with TUI representatives in November 2023. An overview of the proposal was presented at the meeting by the TUI and a discussion followed. The proposal was subsequently considered by my Department and a reply, based on the discussions and the report received, issued to the TUI. The proposal could impact teachers across both the primary and post-primary sectors. With this in mind, the TUI was invited to engage with other teacher unions and management bodies to develop a jointly agreed proposal on a relocation scheme.
There is a range of issues to be considered, including the application process, dispute resolution, seniority and the impact on other redeployment schemes. Further correspondence was received from the TUI on this matter in February 2024, with a reply issuing from the Department in April 2024. The reply from the Department acknowledged that some of the issues raised in the TUI's original correspondence had been addressed. The reply also highlighted key areas that remained to be addressed, including engaging with other stakeholders in the sector to agree a proposal.
It should be noted that an existing voluntary redeployment pilot, distinct from the relocation scheme proposed by the TUI, is in operation. The key purpose of the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme is to assist the Department to achieve the objective of redeploying all surplus permanent teachers.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-24