Dr. Padraig Walsh:

Perhaps I can answer that. CORU is here. There are other bodies like the Dental Council of Ireland, the Irish Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. The relevant Department for them is the Department of Health. That is the body that controls their legislation. One reason there are differences in the way that the professional bodies practise is history. We have bodies like the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, which predates the State, and relatively new bodies like CORU, which were set up in this century. There are also differences in the form of legislation.

As set out in our submission, QQI commissioned a report that looked at the way the different bodies accredit. They do things differently, with some publishing their accreditation reports and others not. It is a matter of history and practice. That report from 2019 is included in our submission. Since then, we have facilitated a finding common ground programme. We have 30 professional, statutory and regulatory bodies, PSRBs, engaging in a programme of quarterly events, which involves a dedicated communications hub. We have worked on high-level accreditation principles, which are aimed at finding a method of updating the academic validation and professional accreditation process. To date, 16 professional bodies, 15 public higher education institutions and eight private higher education institutions have endorsed those principles. Getting people around the table has helped. People will be in a position to look at Ms McHugh's suggestion of a steering group. That proposal could progress.