Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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698. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who have applied for registration with the Teaching Council under route 4 with Montessori education from 31 December 2023 to date in 2025; and the number that were rejected. [58278/25]

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, 2025 www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2025/10/SI.2025.0482_TC_Registration_Regulations.pdf. 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.

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.

Route 4 of the Regulations currently provides for teachers who hold recognised Special Education Teaching qualifications obtained outside the State to apply for registration with the Council with the applications assessed by the Teaching Council. Under the 2016 Registration Regulations, Route 4 enabled applicants who had obtained a level 8 qualification on the NFQ in Montessori Education in Ireland which was commenced on or before 1 October 2018 and completed on or before 31 December 2023, to apply for registration without assessment of the qualification and also with the qualification not being subject to the Teaching Council accreditation process,. The sunsetting of this provision, which was subject to extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders, concluded on 31 December 2023, and the revised Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2025, remove the reference to this provision. It remains the case that those previously registered with this qualification under Route 4, can remain on the register, including renewing their registration.

The Teaching Council has informed me that five persons have applied for registration with the Teaching Council under Route 4 with a Level 8 qualification on the NFQ in Montessori Education in Ireland from 31 December 2023 to date in 2025. The Council further notes that three of these persons were previously registered under Route 4 and are currently being considered for return to the register in line with Route 4(1) of the Regulations which provides for persons previously registered under this route. They have confirmed that two of these persons are not eligible for registration under Route 4 as they applied for registration after the close off date of 31 December 2023 and were not previously registered. Both persons have been advised to apply for conditional registration under Route 3- Further Education.

Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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699. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a level 8 degree focused on early childhood education together with strong work experience does not qualify an applicant for route 4 registration with the Teaching Council [58279/25]

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, 2025 www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2025/10/SI.2025.0482_TC_Registration_Regulations.pdf. 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, and Route 3 provides registration for those holding level 8 degrees to register, and applies to state-funded employment to teach in the further education sector.

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. The Department has no role in the registration of individual teachers.

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.

Route 4 of the Regulations currently provides for teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland with a teacher education programme in teaching children with special educational needs. These teachers must be fully recognised by the competent authority/teacher licensing body in the country in which they qualified and have completed any post qualification requirements such as teacher induction.

All initial teacher education programmes in Ireland that lead to registration must have professional accreditation from the Teaching Council. The course being referred to in this query is not a course of primary initial teacher education.

The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/act/30/enacted/en/html provides that people with special educational needs are educated in an inclusive environment, as far as possible and have the same right to access and benefit from education as children who don’t have these needs.

The Teaching Council has published www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2023/08/ceim-standards-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf, which set out the requirements which all programmes of qualification for teaching in Ireland must meet in order to gain accreditation from the Teaching Council. It is also a benchmark for anybody seeking to register as a teacher in Ireland.

Céim includes core elements that ITE programmes must contain, including Inclusive Education: which "includes the fostering of appropriate learning environments, including digital ones, which support the development of student teachers’ ability to provide for the learning needs of all pupils by utilising, for example, a universal design for learning framework." This is intended to provide the foundational competencies teachers will need in order to teach in SEN settings.

There are a number of Graduate and Post-graduate Diplomas in the field of Special Education which are approved by the Department of Education and can be used to add this sector to a teacher’s registration where the teacher also holds an accredited teacher education qualification.

The Teaching Council works within Department policy and central to this policy is that all teachers teaching children with Special Educational Needs should be qualified Primary or Post-Primary teachers in the first instance and may then apply for one of the DE recognised qualifications in Special Educational Needs as outlined in Circular 0044/2019.

Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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700. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will consider the establishment route to registration with the Teaching Council for those who wish to specifically work in special education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58280/25]

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, 2025 www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2025/10/SI.2025.0482_TC_Registration_Regulations.pdf. 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 Department has no role in the registration of individual teachers.

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.

Route 4 of the Regulations currently provides for teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland with a teacher education programme in teaching children with special educational needs. These teachers must be fully recognised by the competent authority/teacher licensing body in the country in which they qualified and have completed any post qualification requirements such as teacher induction.

The Teaching Council works within Department policy and central to this policy is that all teachers teaching children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) should be qualified Primary or Post-Primary teachers in the first instance. The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/act/30 provides that people with special educational needs are educated in an inclusive environment, as far as possible and have the same right to access and benefit from education as children who don’t have these needs.

The Teaching Council as the professional standards body for the teaching profession, sets the standards for programmes of initial teacher education (ITE) and reviews and accredits programmes provided by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the State, based on those standards. All programmes of ITE in Ireland that led to registration must have professional accreditation from the Teaching Council. The standards for programmes of ITE, which were revised in 2020, are published in Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education (2020) www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2023/08/ceim-standards-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf.

Céim includes core elements that ITE programmes must contain, including Inclusive Education: which "includes the fostering of appropriate learning environments, including digital ones, which support the development of student teachers’ ability to provide for the learning needs of all pupils by utilising, for example, a universal design for learning framework." This is intended to provide the foundational competencies teachers will need in order to teach in SEN settings.

There are a number of Graduate and Post-graduate Diplomas in the field of Special Education which are funded by the Department of Education & Youth which can be used to add this sector to a teacher’s registration where the teacher also holds an accredited teacher education qualification.

An important principle of the education system is that all learners are entitled to access the curriculum in accordance with their ability and need, and as such, to the same standard of teaching as all other learners. Department circulars outline the routes of registration that are applicable to schools, including SEN settings and special schools.

The role of the Teaching Council in establishing requirements for Registration, and the routes of registration is reflected above. The Department determines the school sectors and settings where those routes of registration apply.