Dr. Padraig Walsh:

QQI can only approve ex ante. It is the same with all validating bodies, like universities. The programme must be approved before people are recruited to it. There is a sense in accreditation or approval that it is either pass or fail whereas in fact there can be a process of having conditions. QQI, when it validates a programme, can do so with conditions that must be fulfilled by the provider within a period of time. A number of the professional bodies, including the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and the Irish Medical Council, actually operateex anteprocesses but they have a follow-up procedure system. For instance, in areas such as medicine where new programmes are approved, they can approve the programme ex antebut they require a come-back for the first set of graduates.