Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 July 2025
212. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the supports being put in place to help undergraduates to progress from their early childhood education degree to furthering their studies to become a teacher. [36743/25]
View answerThe Teaching Council registers teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001-2015 and in line with the Teaching Council Registration Regulations, 2016: www.teachingcouncil.ie/assets/uploads/2023/08/revised-teaching-council-registration-regulations-2016.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.
With regard to Route 1 – Primary, the qualification requirements include:
Students who successfully completed an early childhood education degree, Level 8, can then pursue a Professional Master of Education (PME) in Primary Teaching once they meet the minimum entry requirements, which are set by the Minister for Education and Youth, in consultation with the Teaching Council. Information on the PME entry requirements can be accessed through the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/services/how-to-qualify-as-a-primary-teacher/.
To register as a Further Education teacher under Route 3, the applicant must have both 1 and 2 below.
1. An Honours Bachelor’s Degree at Level 8 or higher on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) which has a ECTS credit weighting of at least 180 credits,
or
An Ordinary Bachelor’s Degree at Level 7 on the NFQ which has a ECTS credit weighting of at least 180 credits and either:
• An appropriate additional qualification, or
• A minimum of three years’ experience in a workplace or instructional setting which is relevant to the qualification(s).
2. A Teaching Council accredited Further Education teacher education qualification (TEQ).
If the applicant has the required degree qualification but have not completed an accredited TEQ, they can be registered with a condition(s) for three years.
In this time, they must complete their TEQ.
It should be noted that Higher Education Institutes can consider previous experience and qualifications through recognition of prior learning (RPL) mechanisms, which can be offset against course requirements and can result in exemptions or credits for certain components of the programmes of study. HEIs have flexibility in how they apply RPL, and in doing so endeavour to align with the requirements of the Teaching Council. The Teaching Council has no role in determining RPL. It may be worthwhile for individual applicants to engage with the relevant HEI to consider if any such accommodations would be of benefit and enable the course of study required to be undertaken.
My Department is committed to examining the needs of the teacher workforce into the future and in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government commitment, I announced the establishment of a Convention on Education during the teacher conferences at Easter. It is hoped to commence the first stages of the process later this year.
This national conversation will inform what changes may be needed to the education landscape to help ensure responsiveness of the system to children and young people’s needs, reflecting on how best to provide for what is working well and to examine what needs to be changed. The teaching workforce and entry routes to the teaching profession will form part of this conversation and outputs from the convention will inform longer term education strategy.
