Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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283. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the sections of the Teaching Council Act 2001 that have not been commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22409/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Under the Teaching Council Act 2001, the Teaching Council is, since 2006, the body with statutory authority and responsibility for setting standards for and regulation of the teaching profession.

The Teaching Council Act has been commenced on a phased basis in a logical sequence.

Most sections were commenced on establishment day, 28 March 2006. Section 7(2)(f) and (g) were commenced on 1 September 2012, enabling the Council to establish procedures and criteria for induction and probation of newly qualified teachers.

On 28 January 2014, section 30 was commenced, requiring all teachers in teaching posts in schools recognised for Oireachtas funding to be registered with the Teaching Council, except in the most urgent and exceptional cases.

The Act of 2001 was amended in the Teaching Council (Amendment) Act 2015, to provide for, inter alia, the Garda vetting of teachers on a statutory basis, and how a complaint to the Council in relation to a registered teacher will be dealt with.

The next step in the commencement schedule is Part 5, which will enable the Teaching Council to investigate a complaint against a teacher, and where a finding is made, to impose a range of sanctions ranging from advice to removal from the register.

Officials of my Department are liaising closely with the Teaching Council in relation to the arrangements for Part 5, and I intend to commence that part shortly, along with other sections of the amended Act.

The final section of the Act to be commenced is section 39, which will enable the Teaching Council to review and accredit programmes of continuing professional development for teachers. The timing of the commencement of section 39 will have regard to Cosán, the national framework for teacher learning, which is being developed by the Teaching Council with a view to full implementation in 2020.