Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One of the other issues which was raised was the issue of approving and accrediting a course before it is up and running. Does one wait for the course to be up and running, and then give it approval after one sees how it is performing? Obviously, CORU and QQI are limited with regard to what they can do by the legislation which has been set down.

From the point of view of the student, one could appreciate the concern and maybe the apparent unfairness which arises if one has a student who starts a course which has not been accredited, and then a while into the course, they are told that it is not going to be accredited. I know this is predominantly a question for politicians but is there anything that can be done to try to protect students who find themselves in that position?