Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for moving to a system whereby recently qualified teachers will be probated by their school principal rather than a Department inspector; if a circular was issued to schools in relation to this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8668/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Access to the profession of teaching in recognised schools in Ireland is regulated. The Teaching Council is the designated authority for the regulation of the profession. Section 7(2)(f) and Section 7(2)(g) of the Teaching Council Act 2001 were commenced on 1 September 2012, conferring responsibility for induction and probation procedures to the Teaching Council. The Council requires that all primary teachers successfully complete probation in order to achieve full registration (registration without conditions). The Inspectorate of my Department evaluates the professional competence of primary teachers, in accordance with Circular 0029/2012 for the purposes of informing the Teaching Council's decisions regarding registration. The Council is preparing proposals for the probation for all teachers for consultation. However in the school year 2012/13 the Inspectorate continues to evaluate the professional competence of primary teachers, for the purposes of informing the Teaching Council's decisions regarding registration.