Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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782. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether the new policy measure announced on 21 April 2025, under which teachers may become eligible for a permanent contract after one year in post, applies exclusively to newly qualified teachers or extends to all teachers appointed to their first teaching contract. [44835/25]

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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783. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether she will provide the circular or official guideline outlining the eligibility criteria, implementation procedures, and any associated timelines. [44836/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 782 and 783 together.

I know that teachers experience challenges that were not so acute for previous generations, including casualisation within the teaching profession. That is why I have announced that to help teachers gain permanent roles more quickly, new agreements are being developed which will see teachers who have taught for one year and successfully interview for a viable post in that school the following year, immediately getting offered a permanent contract at the start of that year.

I hope that being able to gain a permanent contract a year earlier will help teachers in applying for mortgages and placing their careers on a more stable footing much sooner than before. While I hope that this will be of significant benefit to younger teachers in particular, the new arrangements will apply to all teachers who satisfy the relevant criteria.

Officials of my department are engaging with the education partners to finalise the details of this new agreement, following which the details will be published by my department.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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784. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on her plan to introduce a provision to support Irish-trained teachers returning from abroad, allowing them to complete their induction here in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44866/25]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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809. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given the significant shortage Ireland faces with school teachers, when it is envisioned the “timebound provision” within the registrations regulation will be enacted, as many people whom have travelled abroad to study teaching find themselves locked out of applying to register when they return home, with limited options for young people returning from studies abroad to register as qualified teachers here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45315/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 784 and 809 together.

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 qualification requirements for each route are set down in the Schedule.

The qualifications of teachers who qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland are assessed on an individual and holistic basis for the purposes of registering as a teacher. Qualifications are assessed for comparability with graduates of initial teacher education programmes accredited by the Teaching Council. All applications from teachers who qualified abroad are processed in line with the EU Directive 2005/36/EC and are assessed in the same manner, regardless of whether they qualified within or outside the EU. The EU Directive provides for the assessment of qualifications for the purposes of recognition, and this recognition may be subject to conditions.

To assist further with teacher supply challenges, I announced last April that I would work with the Teaching Council to introduce a proposal to enable eligible teachers who have qualified outside of Ireland to apply for registration and complete their induction requirement here.

I see this as an important step in encouraging more teachers to work and start their careers here in Ireland and I am pleased to note that significant progress has been made towards realising this measure.

Under the Teaching Council Act, the Council makes regulations for the purposes of registration through statutory instrument, including to amend or replace existing regulations. A further Statutory Instrument (SI) was required to establish the proposed creation of this timebound provision.

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.

I am pleased to inform you that the final text of the new Registration Regulations has been received from the Teaching Council.

Please refer to the Teaching Council website, www.teachingcouncil.ie, for any further updates in relation to the timebound provision.