The present system of dealing with complaints against teachers is not "wholly satisfactory", the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy, has said.
Persons making complaints are not always told whether their complaint has been upheld and the reason why, Mr Murphy said.
He said he had been informed by the National Parents Council for primary schools that parents are not generally advised of the outcome of complaints they make and that only if a parent persists will they get an answer from the Department of Education. "If so, this is clearly an unsatisfactory situation," he said.
The commissioner said that given the potential for an adverse effect on the well-being of the child concerned and the reputation of the teacher and of the school, it was in the interests of all parties that procedures be put in place which would allow complaints to be investigated quickly.
His comments came in a ruling on an appeal by a woman who was refused access to the full contents of a Department of Education file concerning a complaint she had made about a national school teacher. The woman had sought the records under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Department of Education refused her access to certain records, including the teacher's response to the complaint. It argued that the release of this information would have an adverse impact on its receipt of information from teachers and boards of management in similar cases.
The woman argued that having access to the full file would empower her and other parents to see how complaints against teachers were processed and what was tolerated by the Department.
The matter was referred to the Information Commissioner and after hearing submissions from the woman, the Department, the National Parents Council, the INTO, the Catholic Primary Schools Managers Association and from board of management representative groups, Mr Murphy upheld the Department's decision.
He accepted that the information given to the Department by the board of management of the school was given in confidence. He also found that the release of the teacher's response could prejudice the procedures adopted by the Department in its investigations of complaints against teachers.