Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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334. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether applications to transfer initial teaching licences from overseas to the Teaching Council can be accepted (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40468/25]

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 . There are five routes of registration, the minimum registration requirements for each route are set out in the Schedule of the Regulations.

Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State.

It is the Council’s responsibility to ensure that all teachers entering the profession in Ireland have met the required standards. These standards have been established following extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders, research, and in accordance with Department of Education policies and priorities and developed over a number of years.

Teachers who qualify outside of Ireland are eligible to apply for primary (route 1) and post-primary (route 2) registration subject to providing evidence of being fully qualified. A person deemed to be a fully qualified teacher has completed a recognised teacher education qualification and a programme of induction/post-qualification requirements in the country in which they qualified and can provide a letter confirming that status from the relevant teacher registration body or Ministry of Education.

Further to a review of this applicant’s documentation, they have provided evidence of having an initial teaching licence from the state of Massachusetts. A professional licence is required to be eligible to apply for primary or post-primary registration. The applicant was informed of this requirement and subsequently withdrew their application for post-primary registration in March 2025.

The person that the Deputy is referring to, has also been informed that the Council is currently in the process of revising its Registration Regulations, which includes the development of a timebound provision. The timebound provision, once enacted, would enable eligible teachers who have qualified outside of Ireland to apply for registration and complete their induction requirement (Droichead) in Ireland. This revision involves several procedural steps, including final approval by the Minister for Education. As such, we are unable to provide a definitive timeframe for its completion at this stage. However, it is currently anticipated that the revised regulations will be approved and implemented in the third quarter of this year. Once finalised, full details regarding the implementation of the timebound provision will be made available on our website: www.teachingcouncil.ie. The applicant will receive information about the timebound provision when the commencement date is known.

In the meantime, this teacher may be eligible to apply for registration under further education (route 3). An email has been sent to them to explain their options.