Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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140. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will clarify a recent statement by the Teaching Council about a timebound provision that will allow teachers who trained abroad to complete the Droichead process and transfer to Route 1 registration; when this timebound provision will be implemented; the process for eligible teachers to apply; and if she will give assurance that this route will remain open long enough to allow those already teaching in Ireland to complete Droichead. [55533/25]

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 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. A new set of registration regulations were drafted which included the provision for induction in the state for teachers qualified outside of the state, and on that basis engagement with the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) was required. A proportionality impact assessment was carried out. There was also consultation with various stakeholders. Legal advice was sought to ensure that the new regulations are appropriate and proportionate, with no legal impediments, which requires more time than applies to an amending an SI.

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 to enable registration.

I am pleased to inform you that the final draft of the new Registration Regulations has been received from the Teaching Council and is progressing through the required procedures so that it can be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas to be implemented in the coming days.

Please refer to the Teaching Council website, www.teachingcouncil.ie, for updates regarding the making of the new Registration Regulations, and for information on accessing the timebound provision for overseas qualified applicants to register and complete their induction in the State. Queries regarding the procedure involved in relation to the timebound provision should be directed to the Teaching Council once the new Registration Regulations are in place.