Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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612. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department can examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12401/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State.

The Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016. As set out in the Schedule of the Regulations, the Council registers teachers under five routes of registration: Route 1 - Primary, Route 2 - Post-primary, Route 3 - Further Education, Route 4 - Other and Route 5 - Student Teacher.

Where an applicant for registration as a primary teacher has completed a programme of teacher education outside of Ireland, an Irish Language Requirement (ILR) condition applies to their registration. In order to address this condition, the teacher can either complete an Aptitude Test (SCG – An Scrúdú le hAghaidh Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge) or an Adaptation Period (OCG – Oiriúnú le hAghaidh Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge), which confirms the applicant's competence to teach the Irish language as well as a range of primary school curricular subjects through the medium of Irish. Both the SCG (Aptitude Test) and OCG (Adaptation Period) are administered by Marino Institute of Education.

Upon initial registration a teacher is granted a period of three years to complete this condition. Should a teacher not address this condition within this timeframe the teacher may apply for an extension of time, this is in line with S32 of the Teaching Council Acts. Extension requests are considered under the Teaching Council Procedures – Extension Request Assessments. Further information is available on the Teaching Council website, www.TeachingCouncil.ie. Extension requests are granted at the discretion of the Council and are usually granted for a period of one year. Such requests are generally granted should the teacher evidence that they are in employment. Applications for extension requests are submitted online via a teacher’s MyRegistration portal account.

Terms and conditions for employment in primary school settings are determined by the Department of Education. The routes of registration required are contained in Department Circular 0044/2019. The below table contained in that circular sets out the registration requirements for primary school settings.