Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. Míle buíochas as teacht isteach. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and my colleagues for allowing me to go first because I have to go to a meeting at 6.15 p.m. I apologise in advance that I will not be around for the full proceedings.

My first question may seem a hard one but I do not intend it to be a hostile one. I have spoken to school principals lately and they say there is a fairly widespread perception among them that there is not enough flexibility from the Teaching Council having regard to the teaching crisis that is out there, that is, the crisis in getting teachers in front of classes. One school principal in a DEIS school has been without a woodwork teacher for a long period and it is causing all sorts of panic and so on. I will offer two examples of where they see the rubber hitting the road with regard to the Teaching Council. One was the example of a student who had a qualification from Britain and wanted to do their teacher training induction in Ireland. I gather that is not allowed, the perception being that they need to have either done the teacher training induction in Britain, or wherever else they might have got the degree, and cannot match it up. That is an example of somebody who, in the assessment of a principal teacher, might be a very talented person with roots an Ireland. That person might be an Irish person who has obtained a degree or teaching qualification abroad. It would seem like the appropriate thing to draw them into the education system and fill a full-time post in due course by allowing them to do their induction in Ireland. I am not saying there is no argument against allowing that but I wonder in the light of the crisis whether the Teaching Council is being flexible enough.

The other example given to me was of a person who was very well qualified in another area of endeavour but was attracted to teaching. That person came into teaching without a teaching qualification but is doing brilliantly in the school and in the principal's estimation is performing far in excess of teachers who have teaching qualifications. This person will now have to do an intensive two-year professional master of education programme during which they will have to study, for example, the history of the education system in Ireland, which, particularly in a DEIS school, might not be what they need most in order to do their job.

I understand there have to be standards and I know the Teaching Council is the regulator. However, those principals feel there is a "Computer says no" attitude. They feel the Teaching Council is not responsive and people are unable to get answers quickly. I know the witnesses have a hard job but I am wondering if they are having regard to the crisis in getting teachers. Is the requirement of a two-year qualification now a problem? It is putting a cost on people and perhaps the wrong people are going into the profession because some of the right people cannot afford the outlay for two years of education when one year might have been seen as sufficient.

There is a lot in what I have asked. I do not mean to be hostile but my questions reflect the real-life concerns I am hearing from teaching professionals.