Dr. Jim Murray:

It depends on the nature of the failing. If it is criminal, we would immediately report it but if was a quality assurance failing, we would go through the regular process. Some failings are not nefarious; they are just weaknesses. We operate on the basis of approval but we have a series of measures put in place. I spoke about the conditions which can look like a very bureaucratic thing but it is actually quite serious. We are the statutory body. We set conditions and they have timelines. They will not be on the never-never. They are very tightly defined and we work through those systematically. If a provider did not meet those conditions, leaving aside criminal issues, they could potentially lose the IEM authorisation which would be a serious business in respect of their recruitment of international students. That is the ultimate sanction. That sanction is there and it is clear. We have made it clear to all providers in all of our documentation and our engagements. However, we also want to look on it more positively. We want to build up this sector to make it something of which Ireland can be proud and that it is a quality offering and that it enhances our reputation for education more generally. As Ms Grennan said, we hope there will be opportunities in the future, once there is greater trust in this sector across all of the education sector, for progression pathways and so forth, and the system will be more integrated.