Underperforming teachers could be penalised or dismissed largely on the word of their own school principal under controversial new proposals tabled by the Department of Education.
Principals would play a key part in assessing and identifying teachers who are guilty of "sustained underperformance".
The proposals are designed to address growing concerns about the difficulty in dealing with underperforming teachers. Only a handful of the State's 50,000 teachers are dismissed each year.
The plans have drawn a hostile response from the teacher unions.
They mark a major departure as they envisage teachers being assessed by their principals rather than by inspectors from the Department of Education. Advice from the principal to the school's board of management would trigger disciplinary sanctions including dismissal.
The proposals were tabled at a confidential meeting of the Teachers' Conciliation Council this month. Amid growing concern about the difficulty in dealing with underperforming teachers, the teachers' unions have agreed to "review and revise" current procedures for the suspension and dismissal of teachers as part of the Towards 2016 pay deal.
The new procedures, now under discussion, are scheduled to be in place by the beginning of the next school year.
Last night, John Carr of the Irish National Teachers Organisation called the proposal deeply flawed and unworkable. "Attempting to pass the buck [ from the inspectorate to the principal] in this way is unfair and unjust to teachers and particularly to principals who are already at breaking point," he said.
Since last year, the Department of Education has published whole school evaluation reports but these focus on the performance of the school, not on individual teachers.
While primary teachers and those in vocational schools are routinely inspected, inspection in second-level schools is still uncommon. For years, the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland would only allow members to be inspected if the teacher agreed, but this policy was rescinded as part of the last national pay deal.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin recently described teaching as a "well-protected job and a well-protected profession". But she said the manner in which underperformance was addressed remained "one of the weak links in a profession that is almost exclusively highly regarded".
The key features of the department proposals are:
*The principal will notify the teacher of their intention to address the issue of "sustained underperformance" and notify the school board of management.
*The principal will write a report on the teacher for the board.
*When the board decides there is evidence of underperformance it will - with the advice of the principal - define an improvement plan for the teacher, which will be monitored by the principal.
*Where there is no improvement, the board could proceed to "withdrawal of increment, demotion, suspension, (or) dismissal".
Last night a Department of Education spokeswoman said "the ongoing discussions and negotiations under the Teacher Conciliation Council are confidential, and the department is not in a position to make any comment".
Mr Carr said the least teachers were entitled to from the State was that a professional body such as the inspectorate make decisions in relation to their competence.