Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe told members of the Teaching Council yesterday that he will soon commence the part of the 2001 Teaching Council Act that allows these powers.

The council was formally established three years ago and the main focus of its work to date has been to ensure all qualified teachers are properly registered with it. The number registered now stands at more than 64,000 and the council arranged for more than 6,200 new entrants to the profession to undergo Garda vetting in the past year.

Mr O'Keeffe told council members their role in relation to fitness-to-practise will be of particular importance.

"This will present challenges for the council but I'm confident that you will rise to these and place the interests of the public good and the welfare of our children above all other considerations," he said.

Teaching Council chief executive Áine Lawlor said the move was requested some time ago.

"The council has been preparing for its role in the area of fitness to teach and has researched current practice in other professional bodies in Ireland and in teaching councils in other jurisdictions," she said.

The minister's action will give the council power to take a role in cases of professional misconduct and teaching competence, only after all other avenues are exhausted. New procedures to deal with under-performing teachers were recently agreed by the Department of Education with unions and school managers.

But where matters are not resolved satisfactorily under those procedures, the Teaching Council's investigating committee will have power to hold inquiries into claims of a registered teacher breaching education legislation, engaging in professional misconduct, being registered falsely or fraudulently or medically unfit to teach.

Up to now, less than a handful of teachers are dismissed every year, but greater professional and personal supports are also available in recent years.

The Teaching Council's investigative committee will have power to refer cases to a disciplinary committee, which may remove or suspend someone from the register, effectively meaning they cannot be employed in an Irish school.

It can also decide that a teacher must receive health or professional support in order to stay on the register.

The role of the council will be similar in many respects to that of the Medical Council and An Bord Altranais, as regulators of doctors and nurses respectively.

However, unlike the Medical Council which has mostly non-medical membership, most of the Teaching Council's 37 members are teachers elected by their peers.