Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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222. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the average waiting time for the registration of teachers with the Teaching Council of Ireland, given the necessity for a person who has trained as a primary school teacher abroad to be certified as competent to teach Irish, through Marino College in Dublin 3, where registration is required by November 2015. [33758/15]

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 the Directive and the Council endeavours to remain compliant with the stated timeframes.

The Council is independent in the exercise of its regulatory functions, including the processing of applications for registration, and accordingly my Department does not have the details sought by the Deputy.