Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand we are scheduled to return to this committee before the end of this Dáil session. I will then be in a much better position to update members on a number of the changes. First, the ETB integration programme is proceeding apace. We have set up an implementation office. The Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and I are working closely together. Report Stage of the SOLAS legislation was completed yesterday evening in the Dáil and Second Stage will be taken fairly soon in the Seanad. It is the intention to have the SOLAS legislation enacted probably before the end of this month and to establish the SOLAS board in July. We have a dedicated office for SOLAS-ETB implementation in the Department. It is a fairly big operation logistically.

With regard to the reconfiguration of the third level sector generally, the Chairman will be aware that we have received the HEA report, the landscape document. I submitted it to the Government. We have basically recognised the reconfigurations in regard to the institutes of technology. There are proposals for educational clusters, which I will be happy to discuss. I refer to clusters of various higher education institutions in different regions to allow for co-operation. Most important from the learner's perspective, there will be portability. One will be able to take one's qualifications from one educational institution in the south east, for example, to another and obtain full credits for what one has already learned.