Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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363. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to delays in processing applications by the Teaching Council; if she will clarify that there is only one member of staff processing overseas applications; and if further resources might be provided in order to increase the processing of applications given the current shortage of teachers in certain areas. [61913/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Teaching Council have advised that an average of 600 applications from teachers who qualified outside of Ireland are approved annually for registration. The average processing time for these applications is 10-11 weeks. Information on processing times is clearly provided on the Teaching Council website and the Council advise those intending to register from overseas to commence the process as early as possible in advance of seeking relevant employment. For those applying with qualifications obtained overseas the advice published on the website is up to 12 weeks from receipt of all required documentation. The Council has a dedicated Qualifications Assessment Unit and team of personnel dedicated to the assessment and processing of overseas applications.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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364. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the registration of a person (details supplied) with the Teaching Council. [61914/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching. The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. The Council registers teachers under five routes of registration namely, Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher. The minimum registration requirements for each route are set out in the Schedule of the regulations.

The Teaching Council advise on their website that the assessment and registration process for teachers who qualified outside of Ireland may take up to 12 weeks or 6-8 weeks for those who qualified in Ireland from receipt of all application documentation. Those wishing to register are advised to apply for registration in advance of their planned return to or commencement of teaching. The vetting process may take up to 6 weeks, so applicants are advised to apply for registration at least 12 weeks in advance of their planned return to (or commencement of) teaching.

The Teaching Council have advised that the person referred to submitted an application for registration under in early November, and that processing concluded with Registration finalised on 7 December 2022.

The Council had been liaising with the applicant in November in respect of outstanding documentation in relation to the vetting application including ‘Proof of Address’ dated within the last six months and overseas police clearance from three countries. Applicants for registration who have lived overseas for a cumulative period of 12 months or more after the age of 18 must provide a photocopy of police clearance for each country in which they have resided. On foot o being advised advising that overseas police clearance from these countries could not be provided, the Council considered the case and advised that a GV01 form (Sworn Declaration) is acceptable in lieu of the police clearances. (The Council reserves the right to seek a sworn declaration where a satisfactory police/criminal records disclosure is not available).

A completed GV01 form (Sworn Declaration) was provided in order to fulfil the Statutory obligation to obtain Vetting clearance, which enabled the Council to process the application for Registration.