Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I ask the Minister for clarification on the question of redeployment of a teacher who is on a panel when, after consultation, there is no agreement by a school to take a particular teacher from the panel, or a teacher remains on the panel. With this legislation, the Minister will have the power to overrule that decision following consultation and appoint a teacher from the panel. For example, would he see it as appropriate if a teacher who did not have fluent Irish was required to teach in a Gaeltacht area? How would he respond if a teacher who did not believe in the particular ethos of a school was appointed to that school? As I understand it, the responsibility of a school's board of management is to provide an appropriate education for its children and to ensure the teachers of those children are able to fulfil the requirements of the role. In the first case I mentioned, this requirement would be fluent Irish, because it is a Gaeltacht school; in the second, it would be that the teacher would uphold the ethos of the school, be it Church of Ireland, Catholic or non-denominational. I would like the Minister's answers to those two questions.