Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 297 and 298 together.

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.

Fully qualified teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland are eligible to apply for registration with the Teaching Council. All applications from teachers who qualified abroad are processed in line with EU Directive 2005/36/EC and are assessed in the same manner, regardless of whether they qualified within or outside the EU. All applications are individually assessed.

A person deemed to be a fully qualified teacher:

• has completed a recognised teacher education qualification and programme of induction in the country in which they qualified, and
• can provide an official letter from the relevant teacher registration body / Competent Authority or Ministry of Education confirming recognition as a fully qualified teacher in the State/ country.

In accordance with EU Directive 2005/36/EC, the qualifications of teachers who qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland are assessed to ensure they are of a comparable standard to those achieved by graduates of accredited programmes in Ireland. Where significant differences arise, conditions (qualification shortfalls) will be applied to the teacher's registration.

The Teaching Council advises on their website that the assessment and registration process for teachers who qualified outside of Ireland may take up to 12 weeks. Processing time commences from the date that applicants submit all documents required to conduct that assessment.

The registration timeframe can vary for applicants from abroad, as in accordance with EU legislation, a complete assessment of an applicant’s qualifications, teaching experience and life-long learning is conducted to ensure comparability to the standards of initial teacher education achieved by graduates of professionally accredited programmes in Ireland.

As a statutory body, the Teaching Council is required by law to properly determine and to authenticate the relevant standards and qualifications of all applicants for registration, including those who have qualified outside of Ireland.