Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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348. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given that the Teaching Council has now invited teachers who qualified outside of Ireland to register with them with a view to teaching in Ireland, and given that most of these teachers will not have the required H4 in Leaving Certificate Irish, if she will intervene to direct the Teaching Council to allow mature students who have high grades in ordinary level Irish to complete a PME (Professional Masters in Education) while at the same time upskilling their Irish to the required level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9771/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department specifies the minimum entry requirements in the core subjects: Irish, English and Mathematics for entry into primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes to ensure that primary teachers have the capacity to lead in these significant areas of student learning. The current Leaving Certificate entry requirement is a H4 in Irish.

All candidates, including school leavers, mature students and university graduates must hold the required level of Leaving Certificate Irish, English or Mathematics or an approved equivalent for entry into primary ITE programmes.

In the case of a student wishing to enter a postgraduate programme and who does not meet the minimum entry requirement in Irish, English or Mathematics, it is open to the person to repeat the Leaving Certificate Examination or pursue a course of study leading to one of the alternative qualifications in the subject(s) concerned as outlined in recently published Professional Master of Education (Primary Teaching) Entry Requirements and Procedures for 2023. Link: gov.ie - How to qualify as a primary teacher (www.gov.ie).