Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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102. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a teacher on a conditional Teaching Council registration who chooses to undertake the assessment only route for post primary (details supplied) will allow a teacher to become fully qualified and registered under route 2 of the Teaching Council. [60215/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the following: 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.

As a statutory body, the Teaching Council is mandated by law to properly determine and to authenticate the relevant standards and qualifications of all applicants for registration, including those who have qualified outside of Ireland.

Teaching qualifications are recognised differently in national contexts, jurisdictions, and educational sectors around the world, therefore persons completing teacher education qualifications outside the State and seeking to register with the Teaching Council must have their qualifications assessed to determine that they are comparable to accredited qualifications in Ireland. This ensures equity and parity of treatment for graduates from ITE programmes within the state, and graduates from outside of the state.

All applications for are assessed on an individual, case by case basis. The assessments are holistic and include the individual combination of relevant qualifications, teaching experience, and lifelong learning. The relevant criteria are equally applied to all applicants.

Given the importance and impact of teaching which affects the lives of learners, the Teaching Council has a responsibility to safeguard entry to the profession in a way that supports quality teaching and learning. The Council also has a responsibility to ensure that all teachers entering the profession have met the same standards. The standards for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Ireland are set out in the Council's policy: www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2023/08/ceim-standards-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf

All teacher education programmes in Ireland must be aligned with Céim to gain professional accreditation with the Teaching Council. Therefore, the qualifications of teachers who qualified out-of-state are assessed to ensure they are of a comparable standard to those achieved by graduates of accredited initial teacher education programmes in Ireland. All applications from teachers who qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland are processed in line with the EU Directive 2005/36/EU (recognition of professional qualifications) and are assessed under its general system in the same manner, regardless of whether the applicant qualified within or outside of the EU. Further details on this process can be found on the Teaching Council (www.teachingcouncil.ie/i-am-applying-to-register/qualified-outside-of-ireland/).

The assessment of applications enables the Council to provide registration with conditions for teachers who may have shortfalls identified in their qualifications, with conditional registration in place for up to three years to allow those shortfalls to be addressed. Typically, such shortfalls can be completed via an adaptation period, or via aptitude tests. The Teaching Council is best placed to provide further information to teachers registered with conditions as to how best to meet any conditions they apply, since the Council is responsible for determining whether they have been achieved.