Teaching Council of Ireland
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-23
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Cathal Byrne (FG), Cultural and Educational Panel

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-23