Teacher permitted to challenge use of screenshots in fitness-to-teach inquiry

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A teacher who cannot be identified because of court orders has been permitted to pursue a High Court challenge to the use of screenshots in a fitness-to-teach inquiry. The proceedings were reported on 24 October 2022.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan made the order permitting the challenge on 24 October 2022. The teacher is seeking to quash a Teaching Council disciplinary committee panel’s June 2022 decision to admit the evidence.

The teacher claimed her former partner obtained the screenshots from her Snapchat account without her consent and in breach of her rights. She also sought an injunction preventing their use and a pause in the inquiry pending the judicial review. Alternatively, she wanted the panel to reconsider their admissibility.

The inquiry concerns allegations including social media communications between the teacher and a former student, allegedly before and after the student completed his Leaving Certificate exams. The teacher denies the allegations.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.