Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Teaching Council is the body with statutory responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession, including the registration of teachers in Ireland. The Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2016 set out the requirements to be registered as a teacher in Ireland. Under these regulations there are four defined routes to registration, namely primary, post-primary, further education and other routes. My Department has no plans to amend the Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2016 to include a special education teacher category.

Under section 38 of the Teaching Council Act, all initial teacher education programmes in Ireland that lead to registration must have professional accreditation from the Teaching Council in accordance with the criteria and guidelines for programme providers published in June 2011 and revised in March 2017. Under the council’s criteria for initial teacher education, student teachers in all accredited programmes are required to undertake study in inclusive education, including special education. Schools should endeavour to assign experienced teachers to special classes with appropriate qualifications and, wherever possible, a background in working with students with special educational needs. Schools should also be proactive in meeting the continuing professional development needs of their special class teachers, in addition to developing and reviewing their whole school polices in the education and inclusion of students with special educational needs. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, support service delivers a range of professional development initiatives and support for teachers working with students with special educational needs in special classes. Schools planning to open special class provision should contact the NCSE support service as soon as they receive their letter of sanction in order to facilitate planning for training of teachers.

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