Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 October 2015
570. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the difficulties teaching graduates are currently having in securing the full 100 hours to complete their higher diploma in arts in primary education; and her plans to address this problem. [36154/15]
View answerThe Teaching Council is the body with statutory authority, under the Teaching Council Act, for establishing procedures and criteria for the probation of teachers. All primary teachers must complete their probation successfully before they can achieve full registration with the Teaching Council.
The minimum service requirement for probation purposes in order to secure registration as a primary teacher with the Teaching Council was decreased from 170 days to 100 days in the 2011/2012 school year. If a newly qualified teacher is unable to complete probation in the time period specified by the Council he/she should apply to the Council for an extension to that period.
Measures have also been put in place in recent years to alleviate the difficulties experienced by some teachers in securing employment to complete probation. The allocation of additional funding for the employment of teachers in the 2015 and 2016 budgets will assist in creating additional positions which will further assist newly qualified teachers to obtain positions.
In addition, the Department of Social Protection's Work Placement Programme provides placements for, among others, graduates who are unemployed and are not in receipt of a social welfare payment.
Circular 31/2011 details a cascade of measures for recruitment of teachers, prioritising unemployed registered teachers over retired registered teachers and registered teachers over unregistered persons.
Each Principal must report to his or her board of management on a regular basis on the fact that a list of unemployed registered teachers is being maintained, and the circumstances in which he or she had had to engage a registered teacher in receipt of a pension under a public service pension scheme or an unregistered person.
