Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is a Covid amendment regulation. In the more than four years since Covid sadly landed on these shores, as it did across the rest of the world, what engagement has the Department had on an ongoing basis with the Teaching Council in this regard? Clearly, an issue was identified and addressed at that point in time and that regulation was put in place, but the Minister spoke of a statutory instrument. Has the Department engaged with the Teaching Council on an ongoing basis with regard to this query? As I said regarding teachers who complete their teaching qualification in England, we need them here, we want them here and they want to be here. In the four years since the pandemic hit, surely there was some ongoing correspondence or ongoing engagement to see what was the best practice that could be taken from an amendment that was put in place at that time to smoothen the pathway for teachers who want to come here.

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