Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
461. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether schools are required to maintain a formal register of external speakers and facilitators engaged with students, including details of the organisation represented, topic delivered, class groups addressed, vetting status where applicable and approving authority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36528/26]
View answer462. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department maintains, or intends to establish, a national reporting mechanism for complaints relating to external speakers in schools, including complaints concerning safeguarding, age appropriateness or curriculum suitability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36529/26]
View answer463. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether she is satisfied that consistent national safeguarding standards can be assured in circumstances where there is no central register of external speakers and no centralised record of complaints relating to such engagements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36530/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 461, 462 and 463 together.
School management, principals and teachers have a duty to provide the best quality and the most appropriate education to their students in their local context. Choices regarding educational services are made by individual schools and their boards of management, not by the Department. Schools are free to choose whatever resources they feel support the delivery of the curriculum in their school.
My Department provides clear guidance to schools on the engagement of outside speakers and on the use of external resources to assist in delivering the curriculum. These guidelines are most recently outlined in updated circular 0042/2018 for primary schools and 0043/2018 for post primary schools and are available on gov.ie. This guidance aims to support school authorities in providing the best possible education to their students while protecting students from any potentially harmful, inappropriate or misguided resources, interventions or programmes.As laid out in these guidelines, all external facilitators are to be compliant with the school’s child protection policy and other relevant school policies and procedures. The school authority is to satisfy itself, having regard to its own legal advice if required, that it has met any vetting obligations that arise under the Vetting Act and in line with Circular 0031/2016, for such external facilitators. These guidelines also include consultation with parents/carers in advance of any programme run by an external facilitator. As with any other school matter, where there is cause for complaint from a parent matters would normally be addressed to the individual teacher or school Principal as appropriate. If matters cannot be resolved at that level then a complaint can be addressed to the school board of management and/or Patron. A school may have a formal complaints process in which case this should be followed in pursuing any complaint.
While my Department provides guidelines for all schools on the use of external facilitators, this guidance does not include any decision the school may make in terms of record management relating to these facilitators.
