Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 March 2014
162. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 93 of 27 February 2014, if he will clarify if professionals, other than teachers, registering with the Teaching Council to comply with Circular 0006/2013 on the home tuition scheme for 2013 to 2014 are only permitted to be registered for a limited period of time, for example, a period of three years. [12021/14]
View answerThe Council registers teachers under the terms of section 31(5) of the Teaching Council Act and the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2009. The Council also operates in accordance with the European Directive for the mutual recognition of qualifications 2005/36/EC for the teaching profession. The Council does not register persons for professions other than teaching. The Council does not limit a teacher's period of registration to three years. In circumstances where a teacher does not meet all of the registration requirements at the time of registration, he/she may be granted conditional registration for a period of time in order to meet all of the registration criteria. The period of conditional registration does not normally exceed three years (which is the case for teachers registered in accordance with the European Directive). The three year period is normally adequate for a teacher to meet the additional registration requirements and get full registration.
Since April 2013, all registration applicants are required to have a teaching qualification at the time of application. Those who do not have teaching qualifications are not eligible for registration under regulations 2, 3 or 4. For those who are seeking registration under regulation 5 (and do not have a recognised teaching qualification), registration is granted on a conditional basis for a period of three years to enable the teacher to complete a recognised teaching qualification. If the teacher does not complete a recognised teaching qualification within the three year period or if the specified period is not extended on the basis of extenuating circumstances then his/her registration will lapse.
In situations where a teacher cannot meet the requirements of a registration condition due to extenuating circumstances, he or she can apply for an extension to the specified period.
