A SELF-FUNDED Government education agency is unable to hire an extra 16 staff out of its own resources because it is subject to the public sector recruitment embargo.
The Teaching Council is a self-funded body and most of its income comes from subscription fees paid by the 77,000 registered teachers in the State.
The council is responsible for ensuring teachers have the required qualifications. It also promotes their professional development and regulates standards in the profession. In recent years it has taken on extra responsibilities including Garda vetting of teachers.
In the near future, the body will be also required to establish a fitness to practice committee that will investigate complaints against teachers and have the power to impose sanctions, including removal from the register.
The council, under new director Tomás Ó Ruairc, has said it has a requirement of 48 staff.
Under the Government moratorium and the employment control framework, however, it is not allowed to employ more than 32 staff irrespective of having the resources to employ 48 staff without drawing anything from the State purse.
In a statement, the council contended that this anomaly must be revisited for self-funding bodies such as itself. The extra staffing resources would allow it to tackle a backlog in Garda vetting and assessing foreign qualifications, and also allow it to carry out new functions.
“The public sector staffing moratorium has placed significant pressure on the staff complement of the Teaching Council,” said the statement. “As the council’s functions expand over the coming two years with the implementation of outstanding sections of the Teaching Council Act, the capacity and resources of the organisation will need to grow accordingly to ensure it remains fit for purpose.”
The council made a submission to the Department of Education in June 2011 and is still awaiting a decision. The department, in response to queries from The Irish Times, said the employment control framework applied across the public sector.
It said Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn was aware of the situation and that there had been ongoing discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure about the matter. The department said while the council paid the staff, the pensions were funded by the Department.
“The possibility of outsourcing some Teaching Council functions is being examined by the department,” said a spokeswoman.
Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy Eames has said she intends to raise the matter with the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and with Mr Quinn. She described the anomaly as making no sense.
“I understand the importance of the embargo if there is a cost to the exchequer,” said the Galway Senator. “But I really believe the embargo should be lifted to allow extra staff to be hired for a body like the Teaching Council which has its own resources.”
