The way is now clear for the establishment of a body to regulate the teaching profession, following a vote by the Teachers' Union of Ireland to back the move.
The TUI has voted by a 70:30 margin in favour of the new Teaching Council. Some 50 per cent of members voted.
The union was required by a decision of its annual conference to hold the ballot. Neither of the other teaching unions - ASTI and INTO - has required a ballot on the issue.
The Teaching Council will be similar in scope to the Medical Council. Its functions include:
To promote teaching as a profession and the professional development of teachers.
To provide for the registration and regulation of teachers.
To conduct inquiries into the fitness of teachers and to impose sanctions where necessary.
The Teaching Council will only deal with issues of serious professional misconduct or cases where a teacher is the subject of a criminal conviction.
The TUI vote comes at a time when the union is split by a bitter dispute between its president, Mr Derek Dunne, and its vice-president, Mr Paddy Healy, over the union's support for benchmarking and the supervision deal.
In a letter to members, Mr Dunne has described a document on benchmarking - prepared and circulated by Mr Healy - as "unacceptable". Mr Dunne writes: "This subversive approach by a vice-president is unprecedented and I will vehemently oppose your interference."