A schoolteacher priest, said to be penniless since his pay was cut
off by the minister for education, has been granted leave to legally
challenge the Teaching Council’s decision not to register him as a
teacher. Fr Tommy Conroy, who was cleared by his school board of allegations of having sexually abused a student, has already been granted leave by the High Court to challenge the minister’s decision to refuse to pay him.
Fr Conroy, of Clonamona, Dranford, Gorey, Co Wexford, had been put on administrative leave with pay pending a thorough school board inquiry. Despite his name having been cleared, the minister refused to pay him and the school refused to re-employ him on the basis he had allowed his teacher registration, albeit inadvertently, to lapse.
Oliver Costello, counsel for Fr Conroy, told the High Court he had not been paid since the end of May.
His solicitor, Ken Smyth, told Mr Justice Michael Moriarty yesterday that the Teaching Council had acted beyond its powers in refusing to register Fr Conroy as a teacher and had relied on a code of professional conduct that had no statutory application or relevance to Fr Conroy’s application.
Mr Smyth said he had represented Fr Conroy at an internal review hearing and was surprised by the attendance of about 15 people from the Teaching Council’s side, leaving it unclear as to whom among them constituted the review panel.
Fr Conroy had earlier told the court that, following a full investigation by the board of management of Gorey Community School, where he had worked, the board decided in Oct 2012 that he had not engaged in sexual impropriety with the student and no disciplinary action had been taken or was proposed against him.
He had remained on leave with pay and had agreed to a request from the board to undergo a risk assessment which he had completed.
Judge Moriarty granted Fr Conroy leave to seek by way of judicial review an order quashing the Teaching Council’s decision and a permanent injunction requiring the council to register him. Fr Conroy is also seeking damages. The matter was returned to Oct 10.