Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I appreciate that. Perhaps we can address the matter on Committee Stage. A substantial number of retired teachers are working in the system. Often, decision makers can take the easy option and hire experienced people who they know to be competent for two or three days, a few weeks or so on. When will the young person ever get a start? I hope we can make some progress on this issue in the context of this legislation.

Section 30 aims at ensuring that schools only employ teachers who are qualified and registered in accordance with the standards set by the Teaching Council. The section has never been implemented, with the result that schools are not under a statutory obligation to employ registered teachers. I welcome the commencement of this section.

The section will also allow the Teaching Council to make renewal of registration conditional on a number of factors, including continuing professional development. Bearing in mind the technological age in which we live, it is important to embed continued professional development. There is a clear need to maintain and assess professional development.

The Teaching Council Act 2001 provided a legislative framework for regulating the teaching profession and promoting teaching as a profession. The specific functions of the Teaching Council are varied and important. Its functions include maintaining a register of teachers, publishing codes of professional conduct on teaching knowledge, skills and competence, and maintaining and improving teaching standards. Since its establishment in 2006, it has focused on putting in place the register of teachers, publishing registration regulations, assessing non-standard teaching qualifications and managing Garda vetting of teachers. In 2009, it started the process of accrediting the 42 teacher education programmes in Ireland.

The Bill introduces redeployment of teachers into primary legislation for the first time. The statutory underpinning of an effective redeployment scheme will help to absorb surplus positions, thus leading to cost savings. Redeployment will take place in cases where a school is over quota, as outlined in the Croke Park agreement, or where a school closes, as agreed in Towards 2016. Under the legislation, a teacher will become an employee of the board of the school to which he or she is redeployed. Teachers may also be redeployed to a school with a different ethos.

While we support the commencement of section 30, we do not agree that it should be amended to allow for the paid employment of unregistered teachers in certain circumstances. The 2001 Act ensures that schools only employ teachers who are qualified and registered in accordance with the standards set by the Teaching Council. Section 30 also prohibits the payment of unregistered teachers. The section provides that qualified teachers who are not registered will be paid the unqualified rate of pay, thereby offering a financial incentive for qualified teachers to register with the council and abide by its professional standards.

Between January and March 2011, some 3,376 teachers were removed from the register. This does not mean they were unqualified, however, because they may have requested to be removed from the register on retirement or failed to pay their annual registration fees. Approximately 73,000 teachers are registered with the council.

Section 7 of the Bill has caused concern among teachers and educational partners. I welcome that the Minister also wants to make progress on certain of the issues arising in this regard. The Teaching Council has welcomed the publication of the Bill and, in particular, those provisions relating to mandatory registration because they will allow it to exercise its statutory role in full. The council is concerned, however, that the Bill as currently drafted includes a proposed amendment to the text of section 30 of the 2001 Act and qualifies that section by reference to section 24(7) of the Education Act, as amended. The proposed text of section 24(7) is intended to allow for the temporary employment in certain exceptional and limited circumstances of persons who are not registered teachers, if no registered teacher is available. The council has previously made known its opposition to such an exemption and remains of the view that there is neither a need nor is it desirable to amend section 30 in any way. It has communicated this view to the Minister. We will be unnecessarily providing for the employment of unregistered teachers. It is a common trait to take the easier option instead of exploring every opportunity for providing jobs for unemployed teachers of any age.

Unions have expressed their opposition to the revised section 24(8) of the Education Act, which provides for the employment of a person who is not a registered teacher in place of a registered teacher in particular circumstances. I hope the provision will be reversed on Committee Stage but if the Minister is minded to proceed, it must be accompanied by strict conditions.

See this speech in context