Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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367. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason that a person (details supplied) who has a secondary school job awaiting them, and which they cannot commence due to the fact that they have been waiting over two months for the Teaching Council to complete their registration; if she can assure the person and others in the same predicament that their registration will be completed post-haste; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61965/22]

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 and depending on the time of year. 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 individual referred to submitted the application for registration under in early November, and registration has now been granted.

The Council had been liaising with the individual in question in November in respect of outstanding documentation for her 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.

In cases where such clearance cannot be obtained, 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).

This was submitted as required, in order to satisfy statutory vetting requirements and complete the registration.