Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. With the Chair's indulgence, I thank the Minister, her staff, the school principal and members of NEPS who weighed in recently in the Firhouse area. While we spoke earlier about mistakes that have been made, in a tragedy such as this one, all the resources came together, which shows we have the ability. The same was true in the case of the school bus tragedy in Meath when all the help came together for those affected. On behalf of local people, I thank all the professionals who rallied around the community and are helping people through this awful tragedy.

I welcomed the introduction of the Teaching Council Act. I do not understand this lacuna — is it le cúnamh Dé? An error has been noticed and needs to be addressed. It is surprising how long it has taken to get the council operational. We are discussing the Teaching Council Act 2001 and it is only in 2006 that we are establishing the council. The delay is frustrating for us all, including, no doubt, the Minister. I understand the original Bill was supported by all sides of the House, as everyone understood the importance of the teaching council.

The council holds great potential to ensure that, possibly for the first time, educational issues such as teacher training are placed in the competent hands of professionals. With the teaching council teachers are being given a level of self-governance akin to what lawyers and architects already have. Teachers' unions such as the INTO have for years called for the establishment of such a council. I understand Scotland has had a teaching council since 1966. While it has been a long time coming, it is welcome. It is the first independent body to regulate key aspects of the teaching profession. Some 22 of the 37 council members are teachers, 16 of whom were nominated by teachers. It is a positive development.

The Minister referred to the first gender-balanced election in the history of the State. However, it would be wrong not to have gender balance, particularly on the teaching council, because of the imbalance in favour of women in the profession. The teaching profession as a whole needs to be promoted and the council may help in this regard. Not only will it establish and maintain codes of conduct for teachers, but it will help represent the teaching profession on issues relating to education.

The Act will provide a significant level of self-governance of the teaching profession, which is positive and should help to empower teachers. I noted what Deputy Enright said about vetting procedures etc., which the Minister will need to prioritise. There is considerable concern over the length of time it has taken to introduce the guidelines on the suitability for teachers. While I understand that difficulties exist, the lengthy delay is unacceptable.

Ultimately, giving more power to teachers who have invaluable day-to-day teaching experience in the classroom and therefore know what needs to be improved and changed is a progressive step. I support the council, which is overdue. It is inconceivable that it should take so long to get it operational and in her reply I ask the Minister to explain it to me, as someone who is not familiar with these long delays. While the Minister referred to a formal "establishment day", we seem to have waited an incredibly long time from the passing of the Act by the House to having the council operational. I understand the need to get resources and I accept the explanation from the Minister, which indicated that considerable work was carried out by the council in preparing for its official establishment. It has been dragged out for a long time.

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