Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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165. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to review an application to the Teaching Council (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5060/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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. The minimum registration requirements for each route are set out in the Regulations. The Department does not have any role in the registration of individual teachers.

The Teaching Council is the regulator of the teaching profession in Ireland. Their role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. They do this through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession, whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.

To assist with teacher supply challenges in the context of a demographic need, the Teaching Council has proposed the creation of a timebound provision within the revised Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations, 2016.

This timebound provision, once enacted, would enable eligible teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to apply for registration and complete their induction requirement in the ROI. It is expected that primary and post-primary teachers, who qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland and apply to complete their induction here under the new provision, will be subject to meeting eligibility and qualifications requirements prior to approval.

The implementation of the revised Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations is subject to a staged Proportionality Assessment process in line with the 2018 EU Proportionality Test Directive. Subject to the outcome of the Proportionality Assessment process, the timebound provision is intended to open to applications from the implementation date of the revised Registration Regulations.

The Teaching Council have informed me that the person that the Deputy is referring to in this query, has made an application for registration to them under Route 2 (Post Primary). However, they have not yet completed an induction period so is currently they are not eligible to progress any further with this application.

The applicant will be eligible to apply for registration once the timebound provision opens to applications. It is anticipated that the timebound provision could open in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2025, however, the exact timeline for opening applications is dependent on the implementation date of the revised Registration Regulations. It should also be noted that applicants will likely have to meet certain eligibility and qualifications requirements prior to approval. Further information relating to the provision will be available on the Teaching Council website in due course.