Teacher guilty of embezzling €2,000 from coworkers banned from teaching for a minimum of five years.
A primary school teacher in Ireland has been removed from the register of teachers and barred from applying for reinstatement for at least five years, following an inquiry into professional misconduct. The teacher, who is in her early 30s, was found guilty of defrauding three colleagues of over €2,000 in an elaborate hoax and failing to repay a €1,000 loan from her school's board of management.
The Teaching Council inquiry panel heard allegations that the teacher had not repaid the loan for a prolonged period and had falsely represented that she had put in place a system to repay the money owed. The teacher's behavior in the Apple money case was described as "disgraceful and dishonourable," as she had promised to deliver goods but failed to do so.
In addition to defrauding her colleagues, the teacher also owes almost €1,000 to the school where she worked. The non-repayment of funds served to deprive the students of the school of a sum. The teacher has resigned from her position at the school.
The panel found that the teacher's actions amounted to professional misconduct and breaches of the Code of Conduct for Teachers. The teacher's failure to attend the inquiry and show insight into her misconduct was also noted.
The director of the Teaching Council made the complaint against the teacher, and the panel was not persuaded that there was any health issue regarding mitigation. The teacher provided little or no expert report regarding the mental health ground advanced as a mitigating factor.
The teacher had a gambling addiction at the time the allegations occurred, and she had suffered several personal tragedies, including the loss of family members and relations and a burglary at her apartment. However, these factors were not deemed sufficient to excuse her actions.
After a plea of mitigation, the Probation Act was applied, but the teacher did not receive a conviction. The teacher has already appeared in court concerning the allegations of deceiving her colleagues.
The teacher received two payments of €500 each, by way of a loan from the school board of management, but has only repaid €50. The teacher also received €1,102 from a teaching colleague, €375 and €545 from two special needs assistants, but did not deliver the promised Apple goods.
The panel was not able to identify the teacher or witnesses, by order of the panel. The teacher has been struck off the register of teachers and is barred from applying for reinstatement for at least five years.
[1] Source: The Irish Times, Primary school teacher struck off register for defrauding colleagues
- The teacher's case, involving the violation of the Code of Conduct for Teachers and professional misconduct such as defrauding colleagues and failing to repay loans, was covered under both the 'education-and-self-development' and 'crime-and-justice' categories.
- In addition to general news regarding the teacher's removal from theregister of teachers, there was also coverage about the teacher's legal proceedings under 'crime-and-justice', which included an instance where the teacher received court proceedings for deceiving her colleagues.
