Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 15, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following:"(4) In the case of the—

(a) employment of, or

(b) entering into a contract for services with,

an examiner (within the meaning of the Education Act 1998) for the purposes of the performance by him or her on a temporary basis of functions in respect of the conduct of examinations to which Part VIII of the Education Act 1998 applies, the obligations placed on a relevant organisation pursuant to subsection (1) shall be regarded as being satisfied where such examiner is a teacher who is registered on the Register of Teachers established and maintained by the Teaching Council.".

This amendment has been introduced at the request of the Department of Education and Skills and ensures the Bill will not negatively and unnecessarily impact on the operation of the annual leaving and junior certificate examinations. There is a binding requirement to have teachers who act as superintendents and examiners in place in all examination centres at the appointed time for each examination. The State Examinations Commission employs directly approximately 8,000 persons on a short-term basis for the purpose of supervising these examinations. Some are employed with as little as a few hours' notice on the day of examinations to cover local contingencies. Most of those employed directly by the commission are teachers employed in schools and registered with the Teaching Council.

The amendment will ensure the State Examinations Commission will not be required to seek a vetting disclosure in respect of teachers registered with the Teaching Council. Should any other persons be employed to perform exam supervision, the commission will be required to seek vetting disclosure in respect of those persons. It is imperative there should be no unnecessary disruption to the operation of the State examinations. Persons working as teachers and registered with the Teaching Council should not require vetting for the purpose of short-term, temporary employment supervising examinations. In addition to ensuring the continued smooth operation of examinations, this amendment will also remove the unnecessary burden on the vetting bureau of an additional 8,000 requests for vetting annually, which could result in an annualised basis of the continuous vetting of exactly the same people.

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