Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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701. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason persons wishing to work in early childhood education, specifically in the special education sector, need to obtain a master’s in primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58281/25]

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 to 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.

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 Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education 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.

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.