Paul Murphy
Ceist:523. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if an exception will be made in relation to the case of a person (details supplied) given the error made by the Teaching Council. [14927/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 9 April 2024
Ceisteanna (523)
Freagraí scríofa
Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State.
The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015. There are five routes of registration with the Teaching Council which are namely Route 1: Primary, Route 2: Post-primary, Route 3: Further Education, Route 4: Other and Route 5: Student Teacher. The registration requirements for each route are set out in the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2016.
The Teaching Council have a statutory remit and there is a provision in the legislation which allows them to make regulations for the purposes of registration.
The Teaching Council have confirmed that an ezine was issued to all registered teachers on 5 January 2023 notifying of an amendment to the Registration Regulations.
This amendment provided for, on a timebound basis, primary and post primary teachers who qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland to apply for registration and complete, their induction here in Ireland, subject to meeting eligibility and qualifications requirements.
The amendment Regulation closed to applications on 1 February 2024.
A link to the eligibility requirements was also provided in the ezine on 5 January 2023 which stated the following:
1. Qualified Teacher Status (or equivalent)
You must:
• Have qualified as a teacher outside of the Republic of Ireland and gained qualified teacher status or equivalent (licence to teach), and
• Completed an accredited programme of initial teacher education in the country where you qualified.
2(a). Qualification requirements – primary applicants
If applying for primary registration, you must have a primary teacher education qualification aimed at 4 to 12 year olds which is comparable to the standard of Irish graduates.
Also, the Teaching Council have confirmed that in all communications pertaining to the Teaching Council (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 2023, it was outlined that registration under this regulation was subject to meeting eligibility and qualifications requirements as outlined above. Essentially qualifications could provide for registration under the amendment allowing for completion of induction in Ireland within the time period outlined, should they be comparable with qualifications received within the State. There was no automatic eligibility conferred for any particular qualification, rather the criteria outlined and provided on the Teaching Council website, applied, and all correspondence referenced being subject to eligibility and qualifications requirements.
The Teaching Council have informed me that they have also received an email similar in content to this query and that they will be reverting back to the person that the Deputy is referring to to advise QTS is what it obtained upon completion of a teacher education programme in the UK from the Teaching Regulation Agency.
Induction is a separate process and is a two-year programme in the UK completed after obtaining QTS in the first instance.