Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her proposals in the context of the Good Friday Agreement to enable primary school teachers who have graduated in Northern Ireland to take up teaching posts in the Republic of Ireland in permanent pensionable jobs even if they do not have a proficiency in the Irish language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6053/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department and the Department of Education Northern Ireland co-operate under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council in a number of areas within the education sector including the area of teacher mobility and qualifications.

Issues in relation to the recognition and registration of teachers in this jurisdiction are a matter for the Teaching Council. Teachers registered in Northern Ireland are currently eligible for registration as teachers with the Teaching Council subject to conditions relating to the Irish language requirement and probation. Holders of provisional recognition must meet the Irish Language requirement in order to be granted full recognition to teach in mainstream classes in national schools. In addition, they must provide certification that they have attended an approved course in the Gaeltacht.

Further, under the EU Directives for the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, provisions are made whereby professionals qualified in one (home) Member State can seek professional recognition of their qualifications in another (host) Member State for the purpose of practising their profession in that host Member State. These Directives apply only where the profession is regulated in the host Member State, as teaching is in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Teaching Council and the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI) are the designated competent authorities for the recognition and assessment of qualifications and registration of teachers at Primary and Post Primary levels. The Teaching Council has a statutory responsibility to cooperate with its equivalent organisation in Northern Ireland (the GTCNI) and there is an ongoing relationship between the two Councils. Issues in relation to the mutual recognition of qualifications between Ireland North and South may be advanced as appropriate in this context.