Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address the issue of audiology education. The HSE's national audiology review group recommended in 2011 that a domestic programme for audiology be established as a matter of priority. The audiology clinical care programme was tasked with reviewing the workforce numbers and making a recommendation for a BSc versus a MSc programme. The audiology clinical care programme concluded that in view of the relatively small size of the current and proposed workforce, some of whom would in any case be at assistant audiologist level, the long-term sustainability of a primary degree programme was doubtful. Undergraduate programmes with cohorts of less than 15 are financially challenging and sometimes unviable. Due to the limited number of clinical placements and employment opportunities, a larger cohort of students would not be sustainable or necessary.

The alternative is for initial training to be through a two-year accelerated MSc degree, as happens in other countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The audiology clinical care programme, with guidance from the Higher Education Authority, concluded that the most effective route for initial training would be an accelerated two-year master's degree programme for students with suitable primary degrees, motivation and disposition. The advantages of a master's over a primary degree for initial training include lower cost, smaller numbers better matched to placement capacity and employment prospects, a better-quality workforce with greater likelihood of future leadership, and research and development linkage.

The HSE, in partnership with the Higher Education Authority, undertook a formal process of inviting expressions of interest from higher education institutes in Ireland. University College Cork was selected in 2013, and it will commence the master's programme in 2015. Unfortunately, Athlone Institute of Technology commenced its primary degree programme in 2012 without approval from either the HEA or the HSE.

It faced sanction from the HEA in early 2014 as a result of this action. Nevertheless, the Health Service Executive agreed to provide placements for the current cohort of Athlone Institute of Technology students once the course was accredited by an external expert. Since accreditation of the Athlone Institute of Technology course in mid-2014, the clinical lead, the senior clinician in audiology in Ireland, has worked continuously with AIT to arrange placements for the students who will commence their studies in early 2015.

In summary, the required domestic framing programme for audiologists in Ireland is at master's degree level. University College Cork was formally selected by the HSE and the HEA to provide this framing and the course will commence in 2015. It will supply a sufficient number of highly qualified graduates per year to maintain the audiology workforce. For this reason, an additional training programme at a lower primary degree level is unnecessary.

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