Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 April 2023
256. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to The Fair Employment (School Teachers) Bill passed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in March 2022; if similar legislation is under consideration by her Department for this jurisdiction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20010/23]
View answerThe Department is aware of the Fair Employment (School Teachers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 referred to by the Deputy. The current position in the Republic of Ireland is that the recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority.
In accordance with Department Circulars 31/2011 and 44/2019, schools are required to ensure that individuals appointed to teach are registered teachers with qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which they are employed. In post primary schools teachers are required to be registered Route 2 with the Teaching Council and have qualifications in the subjects for the post they are appointed to in order to receive incremental salary.
It should also be noted that schools and other educational institutions are required to comply with anti-discrimination and other employment legislation, such as the Employment Equality Act 1998.
Section 37 (1) of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 allowed for the exclusion of discrimination on particular grounds in certain employments. The amended Section 37 now draws a distinction between religious institutions that are entirely privately funded and those which are funded by the taxpayer. The rationale is in the case of the second category, the Government has the right to protect employees who are paid from public monies from unfair treatment or discrimination in their work place.
The amended Section 37 now requires relevant employers in schools with a religious ethos to show that any favourable treatment of an employee or prospective employee is limited to the religion ground and action taken against a person is objectively justified by reference to that institution’s aim of protecting its religious ethos. This provision raises the threshold for discrimination so that schools are precluded from discrimination on any other equality grounds and that any action taken is reasonable and proportionate.
