<p>This paper examines the policy context in Ireland that brought about a national professional development programme – the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching (PDMT) – specifically designed for upskilling out-of-field (OOF) teachers of mathematics. The aims of our study are to: (1) investigate the framing of the problem and solution to OOF mathematics teaching in Ireland; (2) consider the limitations of such a framing; and (3) envision possibilities for the future. We adopted a policy-as-discourse perspective to analyse 42 policy texts that trace debates pertaining to OOF teaching of mathematics in Ireland before and after the introduction of the PDMT. The texts include transcripts of parliamentary debates; ministerial statements and press releases; newspaper articles; research reports; reports by government departments, agencies, and learned societies; the government’s Request for Tender to deliver the upskilling programme; and the PDMT handbook. Analysis of these texts was guided by the six questions that operationalise Bacchi’s What is the Problem Represented to Be? framework, and involved identifying key ideas and their underpinning assumptions regarding OOF mathematics teacher upskilling. This analysis demonstrated that the ‘problem’ of OOF mathematics teaching was constructed through an assumed causal relationship between teacher qualifications, students’ performance and interest in mathematics, and economic outcomes. The resulting policy response to this deficit representation of OOF teachers framed upskilling as a commonsense solution to securing Ireland’s economic competitiveness. We suggest that considering the problem differently – for example, by acknowledging existing identities, expertise, and experience of OOF mathematics teachers – may lead to different solutions.</p>