Mary Moran (Labour)

I, too, welcome the Minister to the Seanad. As stated, the Education (Amendment) Bill was presented to the Dáil by the previous Government but did not receive a hearing in the previous Seanad.

On the housekeeping aspects of the Bill, I welcome the provision to abolish two quangos, the Educational Disadvantage Committee, which concluded its work in 2005, and the Scientific and Technological Education Investment Fund, which was established in 1997 and had expended its funds by 2010. While much valuable and worthwhile work was done by both quangos, their work has been completed and it makes sense to abolish them. The role of the Educational Disadvantage Committee has been assumed by DEIS, which will ensure the issue of educational disadvantage remains a Government priority.

As with Senator D'Arcy, I am a former teacher. When the Teaching Council introduced a requirement to register several years ago I received a letter asking me to list all my qualifications, including the results of every single examination I had taken while at university. While I fully respected and supported this requirement, many teachers asked the reason the council was seeking information on teachers' qualifications and requiring them to undergo Garda vetting when we had been teaching for more than 20 years in some cases.

I paid an annual subscription of €90 to the Teaching Council until May 2011. At one point, when I telephoned the council and asked what I was getting for the fee I was told I had to pay it to get a job. I indicated that as I already had a job I wanted some value for the €90 subscription. I welcome the changes proposed in this regard because teaching, like other professions, needs a statutory professional body. I look forward to the Teaching Council being given further powers as this will enable it to achieve much more.

Despite the circular issued by the Minister in May 2010 requiring schools to employ only appropriately qualified and registered teachers ahead of retired and unqualified teachers, many schools continue to employ retired teachers, including retired principals and deputy principals, to the detriment of newly qualified teachers. This issue must be addressed. I know of fantastic students of mine who have qualified and would make great teachers but cannot get a job. As Senator Power noted, friends of other teachers have been employed in some cases. Newly qualified teachers face a catch-22 scenario in that they cannot secure full-time employment without experience and they cannot gain experience until they secure a job. Having invested so much in our young people to give them a good education, we do not want them to emigrate. We must ensure we keep them here. For this reason, I welcome the changes the Minister proposes in this regard.

I will focus briefly on the section which deals with empowering the Teaching Council as a regulator. Currently, a teacher must merely pay a membership fee on an annual basis to be included on the register of teachers. I welcome the provision which enables the Teaching Council to request proof of continuous professional development for registration. This measure will bring the council into line with other professional regulators. It is a vital initiative because teachers need to keep in touch with their skills. Computers, which have become a prerequisite in teaching, did not feature in the classroom 30 years ago. Some teachers have not mastered the necessary skills. We must keep in touch with our young people.

As matters stand, a teacher could qualify with a higher diploma in education at the age of 22 years and teach a subject for the next 40 years without undertaking to participate in continuous professional development. In this fast-changing society in which technology and methodologies are progressing every year, attendance at in-service and professional courses should be mandatary if our standards of education are to keep pace with those of other European countries. I spoke previously about Ireland's track record among the OECD countries, which is not something to boast about. Studies of the education systems of other countries, for example, Finland, have shown that continuous professional development is at the heart of progressive education. While school principals are generally highly supportive of career development initiatives, they do not have the authority to insist a teacher attend a course. If a teacher decides not to attend an in-service course, a principal cannot take any action. To give an example, a recent in-service course in Gaeilge for second level teachers provided by An tSeirbhís Tacaíochta Dara Leibhéal don Ghaeilge, about which I spoke last week, had an attendance rate of 73%. The course, which relates to the new leaving certificate course, will increase the value of the oral examination to 40%. Why did the other 27% of teachers not attend and what knock-on effect will their failure to attend have on students taking the leaving certificate examination?

Unfortunately, evidence shows that some teachers never avail of the career development offered to them and there is no onus on them to do so at present. I welcome the proposed changes in the legislation in this respect. Making evidence of continuous professional development a requirement of registration with the Teaching Council is a positive step in improving standards of education and learning and thus improving the education of our young people.

I also welcome the plan to enable the Teaching Council to examine the accreditation for teacher education programmes. I hope that in the minority of cases, if there are any, where high standards are not being met the Teaching Council will have the power to refuse accreditation We must ensure that teachers who enter the teaching profession have been educated to the highest possible standards. I welcome the Minister's assurance that the Teaching Council will have the authority to review all teacher education programmes and ensure our student teachers are receiving the best possible preparation for their professional careers.

On the redeployment of teachers where they become surplus to the requirements of a school, I welcome the reform providing that consultation rather than agreement will have to take place with the Department of Education and Skills and the stakeholder. This will expedite the process of redeployment and ensure resources are used to the best possible advantage with due regard given the employment council framework and the Croke Park agreement. I commend the Bill to the House.