Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses can answer my questions when I am finished. Will Mr. Mulconry comment on how the alleged ban on career breaks has impacted on the school boards of management?

I am concerned about the comment made by Mr. Ó Ruairc that the Teaching Council has not heard about the standing group or steering group for teaching supply. I want to put it on record that the establishment of such a group was the first recommendation made in the Striking the Balance report. I am open to correction but I believe the standing group and steering group are the same thing. The report was completed in December 2015, published in June 2017 and the Minister announced that he would implement it in January 2018. According to Mr. Ó Ruairc, the recommendation has not yet been implemented and I ask him to comment. On the same day, the Minister told Mr. Clerkin's organisation, the IPPN, that he would ask the Teaching Council to do the following two things: review subject criteria and processes for assessing out-of-State qualifications, including further engagement with the migrant teacher project, and engage more with graduate fairs and final year students. Has the Teaching Council received correspondence from the Minister since he spoke at the IPPN conference?

Last October, in a radio interview with the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, the Minister announced that he would encourage homemakers to avail of Springboard courses to encourage them to become teachers. Have any of the groups present had an official communication from the Minister on the matter? I suspect that the Teaching Council has not received any such communication. A shortage of teachers is the most serious problem in the sector at present. The Minister has said that he would tackle the problem and, therefore, I must ask my question.