Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made regarding the need to ensure the maximum number of temporary or substitute teaching opportunities are provided for qualified teachers who are out of work and not for retired personnel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13778/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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It is the policy of my Department that only a teacher registered with the Teaching Council, and who has qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which he or she is proposed, should be employed in a school. Unregistered personnel should not be appointed except in exceptional circumstances and then only when all avenues for recruiting registered teachers have been exhausted and then only for quite limited time periods. Circular 31/2011 issued last week by my Department sets down rules in this regard and is applicable to all appointments made on or after 1 September 2011.

Schools will be required to keep a list of appropriately qualified registered teachers who are available for substitute teaching at short notice. Teachers who are available for work will be able to inform schools in their locality and be included on this list. Schools must then use this list or a service like Subsearch or TextaSub when they need a teacher at short notice. If a school cannot find an unemployed teacher in time, they may then employ a retired appropriately qualified registered teacher. If none are available, it may move on to employ a registered teacher whose qualifications are for a different sector or post giving preference, wherever possible, to an unemployed teacher over a retired one.

If a school, despite its best efforts, cannot find a registered teacher it may, for a maximum period of one week, employ an unregistered person, provided that it is satisfied that the person is competent and capable to act in place of a teacher. A school must continue looking for an appropriately qualified registered teacher and, if it finds one in the meantime, the interim person must be let go. Principals will be obliged to keep a record and report to the board of management on instances where retired registered teachers and unregistered people are employed.