Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support this amendment and believe the default position should be that hearings would be held in private. As Deputies Coppinger and Boyd Barrett have outlined, if it is in the public interest that a hearing should be held in public, it can be, but the default position should be that hearings are held in private. The Teaching Council can then decide case by case whether there is a public interest element to a case and, if there is, the hearing can be held in public.

This will not just affect teachers. As has been pointed out, an individual might be called to a hearing to ascertain his or her fitness to teach on medical grounds. A teacher may be suffering from mental health problems, for instance.

It may not be a permanent issue that will prevent from them from teaching, but to make that public would be very wrong and unfair on the teacher who would be very vulnerable if he or she were suffering from mental health problems in the first place. It would also have a great impact on the teacher's family. The default should be that these hearings would be held in private. The wording of the amendment allows for all the findings to be made public if there is an adverse finding. On a case-by-case basis the Teaching Council could then decide it could be held in public if there is a public interest. I agree with the previous speakers that the default position should be that it be in private.

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