Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister's comments. He indicated some time ago that he would ask his officials to examine the pension consequences for retirees returning to teach. If he has it available, he might let us know the outcome of that examination by his officials. He quite rightly outlined that teachers must be registered and qualified and only in exceptional circumstances should a retired person be taken back.

The circulars by the former Minister, Ms Coughlan, and by himself, also asked schools to keep a list of registered teachers. Does the Minister's inspectorate know whether all schools are abiding by this direction?

See this speech in context