Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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396. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will confirm that a person (details supplied) who is currently working as a kindergarten teacher in the United Arab Emirates and hopes to return to Ireland to work in July summer provision this year, whose request for an extension of their Teaching Council registration has been refused, will have their registration renewed as they wish to work in the education sector and have educational and professional qualifications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9645/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 and in line with the . The minimum registration requirements for each route are set out in the Schedule of the Regulations. The department has no role in the registration of individual teachers.

The Teaching Council have informed me that the person that the Deputy is referring to in this query registered with the Teaching Council on 7 March 2022 under Route 3 – Further Education with the condition of completion of an accredited Teacher Education Qualification. In line with the Council’s legislation, they were granted a period of three years to address this condition.

They applied for an extension in December 2024. The application was considered by the Council’s Registration Panel in January 2025. Having considered the application and all documentation supplied, it refused to grant an extension of time for the following reasons: The teacher has not made any efforts to address the registration condition.

If a teacher is refused an extension of time by the Registration Panel, they have 21 days to submit a request for a Review of Decision.

A decision letter was issued to the person following the Registration Panel meeting outlining the above, including details regarding their right to request a review.

A request was submitted for a review of decision in February 2025. Their request will be considered by the Registration Review Group at its next meeting in April.