Education Minister Mary Hanafin has admitted that there are no procedures in place to check the backgrounds of as many as 1,000 untrained substitute teachers in primary and secondary schools.

She said that it was up to each board of management to satisfy itself that a particular individual was considered suitable for appointment.

All newly qualified teachers are checked by the Garda Vetting Unit and a national programme to vet all existing qualified and registered teachers already working in schools is being phased in. There are no plans to include untrained teachers in this vetting.

Until untrained teachers are flushed from the educational system they, too, should have to undergo Garda vetting.

All those involved directly or indirectly with schools should be vetted. Start with employees by all means but move on to board of managements and then extend it to include those who come into daily contact with schools.

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