1539. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education and Youth the pathways available for those wishing to qualify as a special education teacher who are not currently qualified teachers but do not wish to teach in mainstream schools. [63993/26]

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 register teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016 https://www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2023/07/teaching-council-registration-regulations-20161.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 out in the Schedule of the Regulations.

Central to Department policy is that all teachers teaching children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) should be qualified Primary or Post-primary teachers in the first instance. Once qualified as a teacher, persons may apply for professional development in the area of SEN.

All programmes of initial teacher education in Ireland that lead 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)

The standards set Inclusive Education as one of the seven core elements which must unpin all aspects of the programme of ITE.

The Teaching Council has published [Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education] https://www.teachingcouncil.ie/professional-learning/initial-teacher-education/ceim-standards-for-initial-teacher-education/

This 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.

The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 https://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 do not have these needs. Teachers are supported to teach the curriculum in their classrooms through the provision of special needs assistants (SNAs). The primary role of the SNA is to provide adult support to meet the core care needs of children in the school community to enable their successful inclusion to attend, participate and reach their full potential in school with their peers.

Cognisant that teacher education policies vary among countries, Route 4 of the Registration Regulations provides for teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland with qualifications appropriate to the teaching of children with additional 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.

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 and Youth's policies and priorities and developed over a number of years.

I am committed to ensuring that all teachers, at primary and post-primary level, have the skills they need to support the diverse needs of all our children and young people in our schools. It is critical that our teachers are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to continue to deliver high quality and inclusive education.