A teacher is to face sanction after 25 separate allegations of professional misconduct against him were proven in relation to numerous false declarations he made in job applications to the Cork Education and Training Board.
A fitness to practise inquiry of the Teaching Council found the teacher, James Clancy, had engaged in “disgraceful and dishonourable” conduct which brought the profession into disrepute over false claims about his qualifications, teaching experience, and registration status.
The false representations were made in 25 job applications, including 23 for teaching posts at post-primary schools, which Mr Clancy submitted to Cork ETB between February and May 2023.
The teacher, who has no history of employment in the profession, did not attend the two-day inquiry which concluded on Tuesday and he was not legally represented.
Inquiry panel chairman Adrian Guinan noted that none of the allegations against Mr Clancy had been denied, while he had acknowledged that he had not told the truth about his qualifications as a teacher in a number of e-mails to the Teaching Council in 2024.
Although Mr Clancy had not been successful in obtaining any of the teaching roles, Mr Guinan said it was essential that information provided by job applicants for teaching positions is “accurate and reliable” as it was “central to the need to protect the public, parents, students, and colleagues.”
Mr Guinan said the inquiry panel was also satisfied that Mr Clancy had breached the Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers.
The inquiry arose after Cork ETB submitted a complaint to the Teaching Council in March 2024 after it became aware of numerous discrepancies in Mr Clancy’s job applications when he had sought feedback on his “exceptionally low marks across a number of interviews.”
At the conclusion of the inquiry, Mr Guinan said the panel would sit again on a future date to hear submissions about the sanction to be imposed on the teacher.