Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

Such people do not talk about the stresses and strains faced by teachers. Senator Ulick Burke rightly highlighted this issue at length on the Order of Business this morning. There is a great deal of stress involved in teaching. The case of a little girl who wanted to stay in school rather than go home, which was raised earlier today, says it all. As someone who taught in a disadvantaged area for many years, I could write a script on the basis of my observations in the classroom every day of the week. I know of excellent teachers who were pushed beyond their capacity to deal with the problems they faced.

I welcome the establishment of the Teaching Council, which is a great step forward. The social status of the teaching profession has been eroded over the years. Teachers have been classed almost as second class citizens by people who think teachers have a doss job. I am glad the Teaching Council will restore the status of the profession by supporting teachers as they try to fulfil their aspirations and expectations and to provide the appropriate standard and quality of education. It has already been acknowledged that similar councils are in place in the medical and legal professions. Given that teachers are professionals, it is right that a Teaching Council of 37 members has been established. The council will be self-regulatory; in other words, it is mostly teachers who will run the show. That is terribly important.

I will spell out the purposes and objectives of the Teaching Council. I understand that it will have three committees, one of which will have responsibility for the registration of qualifications. I do not really understand what that means. The Department of Education and Science used to have responsibility for such matters, but I understand that will no longer be the case. Will the Teaching Council be involved in the harmonisation of qualifications? This issue was raised this morning in another context. If the council is to assess teachers' qualifications, it will have to liaise with the teacher training colleges. Will it have an involvement in the content of courses? This is an important issue. Some teacher training colleges need to reinvent themselves because some of their courses are outdated. This matter also needs to be considered as part of the brief of some educational institutions which are not officially recognised as teacher training colleges. This part states that they will now analyse, assess and monitor "fitness to practise". I hate that phrase. It leads me to think that they are now looking at the teacher. This Teaching Council is about the teaching profession rather than the teacher and I would be worried that it would be misinterpreted. How does one assess fitness to practise? How will it be monitored? It is difficult role to observe whether a teacher is doing his or her work properly. It could be influenced by many factors, such as a particular class having very disruptive children. Fitness to practise will question whether the teacher is capable, yet in another set of circumstances, that teacher could be excellent. In that respect, evaluation of fitness to practise is a huge responsibility. Does evaluating suitability to teach include the vetting of teachers before they are appointed? This is currently happening with PE teachers. Does the vetting of teachers come under the role of the Teaching Council, or is it still under the Department of Education and Science? There are a lot of grey areas between these bodies in respect of which body does what. This needs to be clarified.

I welcome the concept of the Teaching Council and I am glad that it is up and running. I look forward to working with it and with the Department in trying to move forward. It will enhance the profession and it is well overdue.