The Supply Panel Scheme was piloted in 1993 and extended and made permanent in 1998. Its purpose was to provide substitute cover for teachers absent for up to four weeks. It also provided relief for teaching principals to allow them to concentrate on administrative duties and supply teachers were available as an additional resource for host schools.

About 60 teachers are employed full time under the scheme and are available to 212 schools grouped in clusters around 17 host schools.  At present schemes are in operation in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway, Athlone, Dundalk, Monaghan, Donegal, Mayo and Wexford.

It is expected that these 60 teachers will be redeployed to other posts, though any teachers who are temporary may not have full redeployment entitlements.

The move to abolish the scheme has been criticised by the INTO as "short-sighted" and a source of hardship to disadvantaged schools in particular which often have difficulty in sourcing substitute teachers.

However, a spokesman for Minister O’Keeffe said it was more sensible and cost-effective to use the normal substitution arrangements applying to schools in general to cover sick leave absences instead of having a cohort of full-time teachers permanently on call to cover sick leave absences that might or might not arise.

“A value-for-money review published in July 2006 found that about 60 per cent of supply teachers’ time was used to cover sick leave absences with the balance on various other school duties,” he said. (Source: Irish Times)