Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

My advisers share my opinion that this amendment, which has been tabled by Senators Mullen and Quinn, would have the effect of encouraging schools to indiscriminately dismiss teachers whose registration with the Teaching Council has lapsed. We consider that this proposal is disproportionate and overly indiscriminate. Therefore, we do not intend to accept it. The provisions of this Bill, combined with section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001, prohibit the payment of a person employed as a teacher in a school unless he or she is a registered teacher. The only exception to this is when it is necessary to employ an unregistered person due to urgent, temporary or occasional staffing needs. Therefore, the pay of a teacher is stopped if his or her registration lapses. I am advised that the effect of this amendment would be to encourage a school to dismiss a teacher for allowing his or her Teaching Council registration to lapse, and to ensure that such a person would not even be entitled to make a claim for unfair dismissal. In my considered view, this proposal is too indiscriminate and disproportionate. It would mean that a person whose registration lapses for a day could be dismissed summarily and without recourse to the Employment Appeals Tribunal. That is the interpretation our people have put on it.

If a teacher allows his or her registration to lapse, a number of courses of action are open to the employer and to the teacher. The circumstances which may arise may be varied. A teacher might allow his or her registration to lapse for a number of days. An individual might take some time to become registered. An individual who has allowed his or her registration to lapse for a short period may wish to continue to attend the school in the interim period. In the case of a longer period during which the unregistered person is prevented from being paid by the State, he or she may wish to avail of unpaid leave, such as a career break, pending his or her registration with the Teaching Council. Under these circumstances, there is no termination of the employment of the unregistered person - he or she simply cannot be paid from Oireachtas funds while he or she remains unregistered. If a teacher absents himself or herself from school without approval, established grievance and disciplinary procedures may be followed to resolve the situation. Even in such circumstances, I consider that the normal employment law protections, including access to the Employment Appeals Tribunal for a claim of unfair dismissal, should be available to the teacher. The effect of this amendment would involve interposing the Minister in the employment contract by essentially permitting the immediate dismissal with impunity of a teacher who has allowed his or her registration to lapse. I suggest that runs counter to the concept of equal treatment and fair procedures. It is not something we should seek to enshrine in legislation. Accordingly, I do not propose to accept this amendment.