Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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506. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that registration to the National Teaching Council is taking up to 12 weeks for teachers who studied and qualified in the United Kingdom; her views on whether this is an excessive amount of time; her plans to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32985/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Council is obliged under the terms of EU Directive 2005/36/EC to grant registration to teachers who have completed 'regulated education and training' and are deemed fully qualified as a teacher under the terms of the Directive in another EU/EEA Member State. The Council published requirements in this area in a notice of compliance with the Directive in May 2010.

The processing time for an application for registration varies on the type of application and whether an assessment of qualifications is required (to determine if the qualification(s) meet the Council's registration criteria). Applicants including newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who have provided full documentation and have completed the Garda Vetting process at the time of application are typically registered within one/two weeks of the date of application. However in cases where requested documentation remains outstanding, where qualification(s) assessment is required, where the outcome of the Garda Vetting process is not returned in a timely manner, or where the Evidence of Character Panel is required to consider the outcome of the Garda Vetting process, the registration process may be considerably longer.

The Council processes applications from teachers who have completed their initial teacher qualifications in EU Member States under the terms of Council Directive 2005/36/EC. The processing timeframes for such applications are set out under Article 51 of said Directive and the Council endeavours to remain compliant with the stated timeframes.