Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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4. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an alternative for teachers who completed their teaching qualifications in England to complete their induction period in Ireland, as was done under the Covid-19 amendment regulation. [23805/24]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister to provide an alternative for teachers who completed their teaching qualifications in England to complete their induction period in Ireland, as was done under the Covid-19 amendment regulation.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001 to 2015, the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland, including the registration of teachers in the State. The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession and it promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act and there are five routes of registration.

The Covid-19 amendment regulation was introduced as a short-term temporary measure to ease teacher supply issues. It enabled teachers who had not completed induction in the country in which they qualified, but who met particular criteria, to obtain registration in Ireland. This, in turn, gave them an opportunity to complete induction here. This is not the usual practice as a fully registered, overseas-qualified teacher covered under EU mutual recognition of professional qualifications legislation will, in most jurisdictions, have to complete induction in the country in which they obtained their qualification in order to be fully registered.

The amendment regulation closed for applications on 1 February 2024. The amendment which was in place has now expired and a further statutory instrument would be required to establish this regulation for a longer period which, under the Teaching Council Act, is a matter for the council. Through engagement with the council on this matter, I can advise that the council is considering any further amendment to provide for the completion of induction in Ireland for overseas qualified teachers in the context of its legislative framework, including relevant EU legislation. Any updates, changes or amendments in this regard will be published on the Teaching Council website, www.teachingcouncil.ie.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I hear what the Minister is saying but that is going to ring hollow with many people who want to come and work as teachers here and who have qualified in England. My understanding is that some of the work currently ongoing is actually in regard to teachers who may go to the Middle East for a number of years before coming back, although that too is a welcome step. At the moment, we have an unparalleled recruitment and retention crisis in the education system that we need to get to grips with. There are 2,000 long-term vacancies in schools, as well as multiple short-term vacancies, and those are not my words but the words of the INTO general secretary, John Boyle. In 2023, a survey found that almost 80% of advertised teaching positions had no applications while 64% of schools still had unfilled vacancies. There is a solution to be found but we need to knuckle down, put a timeline on this and give those who want to come and work in Ireland as teachers a pathway to do so.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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For the record, we have 1 million students, 4,000 schools and more than 100,000 staff in place, the highest number of staff ever in place. We have the lowest pupil-teacher ratio that we have ever had at a ratio of 23:1. In each of the 3,000 special classes, there are six pupils, one teacher and two SNAs, which is a very low ratio, as is right and correct. We have never had as many staff in the system as we have currently.

With specific regard to this application for teachers who do their training abroad, I must be clear that for them to be fully qualified, it is always the case, including here, that they must do a further year of induction. They are not fully qualified until they have done a year of induction. Heretofore, they had to do that year of induction in the country in which they did their training. There was a derogation during Covid but that has now expired. The Teaching Council is currently looking at that to see what potential there is going forward. However, teachers are not qualified until they have completed their year of induction.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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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.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As I said in my previous reply, through engagement with the Teaching Council on this matter, I can advise and will advise again that the council is considering any further amendment to provide for the completion of induction in Ireland for overseas-qualified teachers in the context of its legislative framework, including relevant EU legislation. I again say to the Deputy that teachers are only qualified when they do the induction. It has been possible in the past, due to a temporary measure being introduced, that they could complete their induction here in Ireland.

From the engagement with the Teaching Council, it is clear that it is looking to see what scope there is going forward, but it is ultimately a matter for the Teaching Council. It must be satisfied the appropriate qualifications are being applied in the appropriate manner for all teachers who wish to qualify. It is my understanding, however, as I said, that, through engagement with the council, that matter is being given consideration.