A number of teachers have made complaints to the Data Protection Commissioner , Helen Dixon

THE Teaching Council, a regulatory body for primary and secondary school teachers in Ireland, is asking federal authorities in the US to remove a website that has copied its entire database of registrations.

The American website has posted details of most Irish teachers in a searchable format that includes names, school addresses, council registration numbers and qualifications.

The ie.teacherslookup.com site also allows users to leave comments about each teacher. Some of the comments posted so far appear defamatory.

Although the information about teachers is available through a search function on the Teaching Council website, it did not give the operators of the American site permission to copy and use its database.

Since it became aware of the American website, the Teaching Council has enhanced protections