Hundreds of schools are struggling to fill teaching posts in core subjects, as a departmental study finds more than 1,000 positions remain unfilled. The Department of Education found 1,026 unfilled teaching positions across 600 post-primary schools in a survey assessing what it called "unmet demand". It comprised 330 vacant posts and a further 696 roles filled by a teacher unqualified to teach the subject. Irish had the most “vacant posts” while maths had the most posts filled by so-called out-of-field teachers. More than 4,600 teachers are believed to be working abroad, according to the Teaching Council, which examined teacher working patterns using CSO data.

Source: Irish Examiner February 04, 2026 00:55 UTC