I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to take this important Commencement matter.

I was recently contacted by a teacher who had returned home from Canada looking to take a job as a PE teacher. He described his situation to me. In May 2025, he completed his qualified teacher status. He applied to the Teaching Council and was told that that was a requirement.

He had previously completed a PE course - a postgraduate certificate in education and a masters in physical education with the Liverpool John Moores University, which is renowned for training PE teachers. Having completed modules in philosophy, psychology and the sociology of physical education, he sought his application from the Teaching Council to move from route 3, which is for further education and training, to route 2, which is post-primary education, where he is looking to take up employment. He had worked on a part-time basis, both in my own county of Wexford and in Dublin.

The situation is that there is no set timeline for the Teaching Council to transpose applications from route 3 to route 2. In an area where we know there is a big demand across the school sector for physical education teachers, it seems unacceptable that there is no clear guidance on how long an application can take with the Teaching Council.

In this particular case, which highlights a wider issue with the Teaching Council on delays, he was told when he did his qualification - the final qualification he requires - in May of last year that his application would be processed by the end of the year.

He contacted the council again in February and was told that the matter was being treated as urgent. At the end of April, having not received anything, he contacted the council again and was told he would receive the final decision on 16 June. He still does not have anything. It is unacceptable that he would have to wait for 13 months.

What is the current situation with the Teaching Council regarding this area? Are there any clear timelines? Will the Department of education instruct the Teaching Council to set out clear guidelines? It should also make a designated point of contact available for applicants in similar situations. There needs to be a clear line of communication with somebody. The individual in question has not received a response either accepting or rejecting is application, or even asking for more information. He has just not got any response back, which in this day and age is unacceptable.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Teaching Council is the independent regulatory body of the teaching profession in Ireland. It was established under the Teaching Council Act 2001, as amended. The council's role is to protect the public by promoting and regulating professional standards in teaching. This is carried out through the statutory registration of teachers, ensuring a highly qualified teaching profession whose members meet and uphold high standards of professional competence and conduct.

As a statutory professional standards body, the Teaching Council is required by law to properly determine and authenticate the relevant standards and qualifications of all applicants for registration. One of the ways the council guarantees and regulates standards is by ensuring that all teachers entering the profession in the Republic of Ireland have met the required standards. Ireland, like the majority of regulating countries assesses qualifications awarded outside the State for alignment with the standards which apply in the State. This is a core principle of the EU Directive 2005/36/EU on the recognition of professional qualifications.

The Teaching Council receives approximately 680 eligible applications annually from teachers who have qualified outside of the Republic of Ireland. The qualifications of teachers who qualified outside the State are processed in line with the EU directive and assessed to ensure they are of a comparable standard to those achieved by graduates of accredited initial teacher education programmes in the Republic of Ireland.

A person deemed to be a fully qualified teacher has completed a recognised teacher education qualification and programme of induction. A person must provide an official letter, confirming they are a fully qualified teacher, from the relevant teacher registration body or competent authority in the country of qualification. Post-primary teachers must also meet the post-primary curricular subject requirements for at least one approved curricular subject. In the case of those seeking registration as post-primary teachers in the subject of physical education, this could include, for example, diplomas or certificates in areas that are relevant to the subject being assessed and which may contribute to the overall assessment outcome. As such, applicants who have completed the same teacher education qualification may not necessarily receive the same outcome, as the holistic assessment process considers all relevant qualifications and their professional experience. This is carried out in the interests of supporting applicants to ensure that all demonstrable knowledge, skill and competence is considered.

The Teaching Council of Ireland has confirmed to my Department that, in the last 18 months, the majority of applicants who had completed a graduate diploma in physical education accredited by Liverpool John Moore’s University were not successful in demonstrating that the qualification met the Teaching Council's curricular subject requirements for physical education.

Applications from outside the State are assessed on a holistic basis, taking account of all relevant qualifications held by the applicant and their professional experience. On that basis, it is not possible to state whether a qualification will meet the requirements for registration prior to the full assessment being completed. I may comment on a few more of the points the Senator raises in my closing remarks.

I appreciate the Minister of State’s coming here to speak on behalf of the Department and the Teaching Council. I recognise that each application is assessed on an individual basis.

I will supply him and the Department with the individual details of this constituent. The key point is there does not seem to be a clear timeline for a decision. I appreciate there were 680 applications from individuals who had qualified as teachers outside the State and who are looking to teach in Ireland. Will the Minister of State address the point about a clear timeline for telling an individual they have or have not been approved? The real issue is around uncertainty. Given the time of year, schools are taking on new teachers for the school year starting in late August or early September. In this case, we still have not got a response for this constituent who applied in May 2025. Clear timelines should be issued to the Teaching Council so there is certainty, notwithstanding the fact every application is different.

We have to ensure the Teaching Council is an independent regulatory body and that it carries out its independent registration function. Neither I nor any Department has a role in that because it has to be very much independent. By being so independent, its authority and status is upheld.

The Department has advised me the average processing time for registration of qualifications gained outside the Republic of Ireland is seven weeks from receipt of completed applications. Directive 2005/36/EC says it must be done within 12 weeks.

The Senator made a number of points regarding the point of contact. That is something I will take back. I will give that information back to the Teaching Council. I can pass the information on and ask that it be dealt with in a timely manner but the overriding concern is to ensure the Teaching Council is independent of the political system and Department, because it is making sure all is in order and that, at post-primary and all levels, the best qualified teachers are in schools.

The Senator mentioned an application made in May 2025. That is 13 months ago at this stage. I will try to ask if perhaps we could get the Teaching Council to directly liaise with the Senator. It would be inappropriate for it to be liaising with me. Maybe it will clarify that question and also provide a point of contact. Many teachers in primary, post-primary and special schools - and indeed special classes - have qualifications from outside the Republic of Ireland and meet the criteria. It is important because we see some great standards and excellent people who have qualified. There are some anomalies in the system as well. I will ask them to liaise directly with the Senator or his constituent. Also, a point of contact would be important for anybody making an application.

It is not possible to state whether a qualification will, of itself, meet the requirements. That is important to stress. I will endeavour to ask them to liaise directly with the Senator.