Teaching Council (Amendment) Act 2015

1. Definition

1. In this Act “Principal Act” means the Teaching Council Act 2001.

2. Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act

2. Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) —

(i) by the insertion of the following definitions:

“‘Act of 1998’ means the Education Act 1998;

‘Act of 2012’ means the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012;

‘Act of 2015’ means the Teaching Council (Amendment) Act 2015;

‘centre for education’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1998;

‘child’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘complainant’ means a person (including the Council) who makes a complaint under subsection (1) or subsection (1D), as the case may be, of section 42;

‘delivery of home tuition’ shall be construed in accordance with subsection (1A) (inserted by section 2(b) of the Act of 2015);

‘Garda Central Vetting Unit’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘GCVU disclosure’ means vetting information in respect of a person received from the Garda Central Vetting Unit before the commencement of the Act of 2012;

‘harm’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘poor professional performance’ means, in relation to a registered teacher, a failure by the registered teacher to meet the standards of competence (whether in knowledge, skill or the application of knowledge and skill or both) that can be reasonably expected of a registered teacher;

‘relevant organisation’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘specified information’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘vetting disclosure’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘vetting procedures’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012;

‘vulnerable person’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2012.”,

(ii) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “panel”:

“ ‘panel’ means a panel of the Disciplinary Committee established under section 43(3);”,

(iii) by the deletion of the definition of “professional misconduct”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In this Act, a reference to the delivery of home tuition is a reference to any work or activity consisting of the provision of home tuition by a person pursuant to a scheme administered and funded by the Department of Education and Skills and known as the Home Tuition Scheme.”.

3. Amendment of section 7 of Principal Act

3. Section 7 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2) —

(i) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) obtain or receive vetting disclosures for the purposes set out in this Act, for the purpose of its role as a relevant organisation or for the purpose of its role as a relevant organisation representing another relevant organisation for the purposes of the vetting procedures under the Act of 2012;”,

and

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (n):

“(n) act as a competent authority within the meaning of Regulation 2(1) of the Recognition of Professional Qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 139 of 2008);”,

and

(b) in subsection (3), by—

(i) the substitution, in paragraph (b), of “advice,” for “advice, and”,

(ii) the substitution, in paragraph (c), of “Northern Ireland, and” for “Northern Ireland.”, and

(iii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c):

“(d) have regard to the need to protect children and vulnerable persons.”.

4. Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act

4. Section 8(2) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (c) —

(i) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iii):

“(iii) Marino Institute of Education;”,

and

(ii) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iv):

“(iv) National University of Ireland, Maynooth;”,

and

(b) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d):

“(d) 2 persons nominated jointly by the following bodies:

(i) National College of Art and Design;

(ii) National University of Ireland, Cork;

(iii) National University of Ireland, Dublin;

(iv) National University of Ireland, Galway;

(v) National University of Ireland, Maynooth;

(vi) Dublin University;

(vii) University of Limerick;

(viii) Dublin City University;

(ix) St. Angela’s College of Education, Sligo;

(x) such other bodies, providing university or other higher education and training, as the Council may determine,”.

5. Amendment of section 24 of Principal Act

5. Section 24 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) The Disciplinary Committee shall, for the purpose of carrying out its function under section 43(1), sit in divisions of itself (each division in this Act referred to as a ‘panel’) established under subsection (3) of that section.”,

and

(b) in subsection (6), by the substitution of “(other than the Executive Committee or Investigating Committee)” for “(other than the Executive Committee, Investigating Committee or Disciplinary Committee)”.

6. Amendment of section 27 of Principal Act

6. Section 27 of the Principal Act is amended by the repeal of subsection (4).

7. Amendment of section 28 of Principal Act

7. Section 28 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2) —

(i) by the deletion of paragraph (a), and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “8 members” for “7 members”,

and

(b) by the repeal of subsection (3) and subsection (4).

8. Amendment of section 29 of Principal Act

8. Section 29 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) —

(i) by the substitution of “in respect of each person who is registered or is entitled to be registered” for “in respect of each person entitled to be registered”,

(ii) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iv):

“(iv) whether the registration is subject to conditions under section 31 (amended by section 10 of the Act of 2015), section 33 (amended by section 14 of the Act of 2015) or section 44 (amended by section 25 of the Act of 2015);”,

(iii) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (vii):

“(vii) name and address of employer if known to the Council;”,

(iv) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (x):

“(x) the findings of any disciplinary proceedings under Part 5, including any measures confirmed by a panel under section 44(1A), and the period for which such information shall remain on the register;”,

and

(v) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (x):

“(xi) the information disclosed by the most recent vetting disclosure in the possession of the Council in respect of the person;”,

(b) in subsection (4), by the substitution of “Save as otherwise provided in any enactment or rule of law prohibiting the disclosure of information, the Council shall” for “The Council shall”, and

(c) in subsection (6), by the substitution of “Save as otherwise provided in any enactment or rule of law prohibiting the disclosure of information and subject to the payment of such fee” for “The register shall be kept at the offices of the Council and subject to the payment of such fee”.

9. Amendment of section 30 of Principal Act

9. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 30 (amended by section 8 of the Education (Amendment) Act 2012)—

“Employment of teacher in recognised school

30. Subject to subsection (8) of section 24 (inserted by section 6 of the Education (Amendment) Act 2012) of the Act of 1998, subsection (22) of section 33 (amended by section 14 of the Act of 2015), subsection (6A) (inserted by section 25(g) of the Act of 2015) of section 44 and subsection (3A) (inserted by section 29 of the Act of 2015) of section 47, a person who is employed as a teacher in a recognised school but—

(a) is not a registered teacher, or

(b) stands removed or suspended from the register under Part 5,

shall not be remunerated in respect of his or her employment out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.”.

10. Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act

10. Section 31 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (5) —

(i) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) the documentary and other evidence which the Council may request for the purposes of determining an application for registration, including the documentary and other evidence to enable the Council to satisfy itself that a person is a fit and proper person to be admitted to the register;”,

and

(ii) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) any other requirements to be met for the purposes of registration which may include requirements relating to—

(i) qualifications,

(ii) teaching experience, and

(iii) medical fitness;”,

(b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (5):

“(5A) The Council may seek a vetting disclosure in respect of a person applying for registration under this section.

(5B) The Council shall not register a person who makes an application under subsection (1) unless the Council—

(a) receives a vetting disclosure in respect of the person, and

(b) is satisfied that the person is a fit and proper person to be admitted to the register, having considered—

(i) subject to subsection (5C), the information contained in the vetting disclosure in respect of that person,

(ii) any submissions made by the person under subsection (5D), and

(iii) any documentary and other evidence submitted by that person to the Council for that purpose in accordance with requirements (if any) prescribed under subsection (5)(b).

(5C) Where a vetting disclosure received by the Council under this section in respect of a person contains specified information and the specified information relates to conduct of the person which occurred prior to the coming into operation of section 10 of the Act of 2015, the Council may not consider that information for the purposes of subsection (5B)(b) unless the conduct concerned would have constituted a criminal offence at the time the conduct occurred.

(5D) Where a vetting disclosure received by the Council under this section in respect of a person contains information referred to in section 14(4)(a) of the Act of 2012 and the Council considers that that information disclosed is of relevance to its consideration as to whether the person making an application under subsection (1) is a fit and proper person to be registered as a teacher under this section, the Council shall notify that person accordingly and invite that person to make submissions in writing to the Council in relation to the disclosure within such time period as is specified in the notice.

(5E) The Council may seek evidence from the person making an application under subsection (1), or any other relevant person, to verify any of the information submitted by the person making that application, for the purposes of registration in accordance with this section.”,

and

(c) in subsection (6) —

(i) in paragraph (a) —

(I) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (i):

“(ia) he or she has failed to provide a declaration of consent or any other information required in accordance with section 31A (inserted by section 12 of the Act of 2015),”,

and

(II) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) at the time the Council makes its decision, the person—

(I) stands removed from the register under Part 5 and is not eligible to apply to be restored to the register under this section, or

(II) stands suspended from the register under Part 5 and the period of suspension has not expired, or”,

(ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) shall refuse to register a person where it is not satisfied that he or she is a fit and proper person to be admitted to the register,”,

and

(iii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “subject to such conditions (if any) as the Council considers appropriate” for “subject to conditions”.

11. Pending applications for registration under section 31 of Principal Act

11. Where, before the coming into operation of section 10, an application for registration has been made under section 31(1) of the Principal Act, but on that coming into operation no decision has been made by the Teaching Council in respect of the application, that application shall continue under section 31 of the Principal Act as amended by section 10 and the provisions of section 31 as amended by section 10 shall apply accordingly.

12. Information necessary to obtain vetting disclosure

12. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 31:

“Information necessary to obtain vetting disclosure

31A. Where a person applies for registration under section 31 he or she shall provide the Council with a declaration of consent (within the meaning of the Act of 2012) and any other information which is required by the Council to enable it to obtain a vetting disclosure in respect of the person.”.

13. Amendment of section 32 of Principal Act

13. Section 32 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) Where a person fails to comply with any condition imposed under section 31(8)(b)(i), he or she shall be removed from the register.”.

14. Amendment of section 33 of Principal Act

14. The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 33 (amended by section 9 of the Education (Amendment) Act 2012):

“Renewal of registration

33. (1) Subject to subsection (13), registration shall be valid for 12 months from the date of registration.

(2) The Council may make regulations for the purposes of renewal of registration of registered teachers which shall provide for, but not necessarily be limited to, all or any of the following:

(a) the form and manner in which an application for renewal shall be made;

(b) the documentary and other evidence which the Council may request for the purposes of determining an application for renewal of registration;

(c) the documentary and other evidence which the Council may request to enable the Council to satisfy itself, for the purposes of subsection (8), that a registered teacher is a fit and proper person to have his or her registration renewed;

(d) any other requirements to be met for renewal of registration which may include requirements relating to—

(i) satisfactory completion of programmes of continuing education and training accredited under section 39,

(ii) teaching experience, or

(iii) medical fitness.

(3) A registered teacher may apply for renewal of his or her registration under this section for a further period of 12 months.

(4) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), an application for renewal of registration shall be made before the expiration of the period of validity of registration and the application shall be accompanied by the renewal fee.

(b) Where, in accordance with subsection (5), the Council notifies a registered teacher that it intends to seek a vetting disclosure in respect of him or her for the purposes of renewing his or her registration, the teacher shall comply with that notice within the period referred to in paragraph (d) of that subsection.

(5) (a) The Council may seek a vetting disclosure in respect of a registered teacher for the purposes of renewing the registration of the teacher in accordance with this section.

(b) The Council shall notify a registered teacher in writing where the Council intends to seek a vetting disclosure in respect of the registered teacher under paragraph (a) and the notice shall—

(i) request the registered teacher to provide the Council with a declaration of consent (within the meaning of the Act of 2012) and any other information specified in the notice which is required by the Council to enable it to obtain a vetting disclosure in respect of that teacher,

(ii) specify the time period within which the registered teacher shall comply with a request under subparagraph (i) and the form and manner in which the information requested under that subparagraph shall be furnished,

(iii) advise the registered teacher that the Council intends to consider the vetting disclosure for the purpose of determining if he or she is a fit and proper person, in accordance with subsection (8), to have his or her registration renewed upon his or her next renewal under this section,

(iv) advise the registered teacher that the Council may refuse to renew the registration of that teacher under this section if he or she fails to comply with the request under subparagraph (i) within the time period specified under subparagraph (ii) and the Council has not been in a position to make a determination that he or she is a fit and proper person to have his or her registration renewed, and

(v) advise the registered teacher that the Council may, having regard to the information contained in the vetting disclosure, where it is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so, apply to the High Court under section 47 for an order that during the period specified in the order his or her registration shall be suspended.

(c) A notice issued under paragraph (b) shall be issued—

(i) not earlier than 10 months prior to the date of expiration of the period of validity of registration of that teacher, or

(ii) within such lesser period as the Minister may direct in respect of all notifications made to registered teachers under that paragraph.

(d) A notice from the Council under paragraph (b) shall specify the period within which the notice shall be complied with, which period shall be the same in respect of all registered teachers to whom a notice is issued in accordance with this subsection.

(6) In considering whether to seek a vetting disclosure under subsection (5) in respect of a registered teacher, the Council shall have regard to—

(a) whether a GCVU disclosure has previously been received by the Council in respect of that teacher,