Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Minister on her appointment to the Department of Education and Skills. I look forward to working with her over the remaining term of this Dáil to try to further education provision to our citizens. It is a huge task and there are many pressing issues. I am sure the Minister will have a very busy summer reading the portfolio, particularly with a number of immediate concerns that need to be addressed.

I refer to community education. The Minister will be aware from briefings before taking this Topical Issue matter that an issue arises with regard to what is known as a re-engagement fee for community education providers with Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI. QQI is proposing to charge a fee to existing providers of registered FETAC community education groups that want to continue to offer accredited programmes under the National Framework of Qualifications, NFQ.

I am sure the Minister is aware from her constituency of the value of community education groups. They offer a quality education provision that is learner centred, responds to the local communities needs, and has the ability to tailor particular courses to those individuals. The progression rates for those individuals who have taken part in community education provision are very successful. They offer a number of things the statutory and private sector does not have the ability to offer. They offer education in local communities that is learner centred. They appeal to individuals who may have been out of the education for many years or who may not have had positive experiences when they were in education. They offer a ray of hope to individuals who I am sure feel very far removed from the labour market. The value of community education is there for everyone to see. They are also very effective in reaching individuals who are long-term unemployed and looking to upskill and increase their ability to get back into the labour market.

Community education provision is dependent on the ability to continue to offer accredited programmes. We do not know yet what will be the proposed re-engagement fee. QQI is due to report back to the Minister's Department on this issue but some of the figures bandied about, which are probably accurate, are in the region of €5,000. Many of the community education providers are under-funded. They do not have access to large sums of money.

It will force many of the community education providers to re-evaluation their position. The ability of a community education provider to provide these accredited courses, which are vital to local communities, will be affected if this fee is imposed by QQI.

We ask that the Minister's Department take a look at this. I know there is a proposal in some quarters that community education providers should come together and form consortiums. In theory, that would seem to be a realistic solution but in practice, it would negate the very ethos of what community education provision is about. Many of these groups are stand alone and the value is there to be seem. I ask the Minister to comment on that.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank Deputy O'Brien for his good wishes. I look forward to working with him and other Opposition spokespersons. I thank him for raising this issue and agree with him on the value of community education. We would be very well aware of it in both of our communities.

As the Deputy will be aware, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, was established in November 2012 under the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 through the amalgamation of the Further Education and Training Awards Council, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council and the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. QQI was given responsibility for the functions of those bodies across further and higher education and training as well as for the external quality assurance function formerly carried out by the Irish Universities Quality Board.

The purpose of the amalgamation of those bodies into QQI was to bring greater coherence to the sector, creating a single body which can deliver a more efficient and integrated service and uphold the quality of Ireland's qualifications and educational institutions while bringing a stronger focus to the creation of flexible pathways for learners.

QQI has very wide-ranging responsibilities, both in terms of the quality assurance of further and higher education and training providers and as an awarding body for certain providers, including many of those in the community and voluntary sector. QQI also has responsibility for safeguarding the standard and quality of its qualifications, all of which are included in the national framework of qualifications.

The 2012 Act provides for the fees to be determined in regard to a number of activities and services carried out by QQI, including agreement of quality assurance procedures, programme validation and the making of awards. To date, fees have been determined for only a limited number of these services, including access to QQI programme validation for providers which do not have an existing relationship with QQI. I understand that QQI is due to publish its policy in regard to re-engagement with providers with which it has an existing relationship, known as legacy providers, shortly.

Re-engagement, or the formal agreement of quality assurance procedures with QQI, is a requirement for legacy providers under the 2012 Act. It will happen only once for a provider. Thereafter, the provider will have to undergo periodic review of the effectiveness of its quality assurance procedures.

The re-engagement process will allow providers to demonstrate their capacity to provide and maintain, on an ongoing and sustainable basis, the infrastructure required to develop programmes consistent with national standards and to assess the achievement of stated learning outcomes by learners.

The fees involved in the re-engagement process have not yet been determined, as the Deputy said. The proposed levels of fee and any associated issues will be considered when the proposal is made by QQI.

I can assure the Deputy that the role played by the community and voluntary sector in providing training and educational opportunities to marginalised communities is both important and valued. However, it must be recognised that learners, in particular those who may be disadvantaged due to unemployment or who come from marginalised communities, deserve and must be assured of the quality of the programmes they undertake and of the awards they receive.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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l completely agree with the Minister on the last point that learners from very disadvantaged communities must be assured that the courses in which they partake are delivered to the highest quality. I have no issue with that. As for QQI itself, I have no issue with it either. When the legislation in regard to it was going through the House, all parties supported it. It has a very valuable and, I suppose, very positive contribution to make to ensure quality assurance in the courses provided.

I do not even have an issue with the re-engagement process because we must ensure that those who provide these courses provide them to the best of their ability, that they are delivered with high education quality and that the progression rates are weighed up. They must also prove that they have the ability and capacity to provide those courses.

The issue I have is around the proposed re-engagement fee. It has not yet been set and it will be looked at when the report is published but we discussed this at the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection and I think all sides have come to the conclusion that one is talking about several thousand euro. It has yet to be determined whether it is €3,000, €5,000 or €6,000.

We are asking for the possibility of a waiver system for community education groups. It my understanding, from reading the QQI legislation, that section 80 gives the Minister the power to introduce a waiver scheme for community education providers. Will the Minister look at that once the report has been published and the costs have been established. It is critical that a re-engagement fee does not become a barrier to community education providers being able to prove that they have the capacity and expertise to deliver these accredited programmes. My concern is not the process but the fee that could be attached to it.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The fees have not yet been determined. QQI has already engaged with a number of representative bodies, including Aontas, the Community Education Network and the community sector committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. It will certainly continue that engagement. The Deputy said it is encouraging some co-operation among providers and I know it would hope that at least would be considered by the many community providers. I encourage them to work with QQI to ensure we get something that works.

I agree with Deputy O'Brien that we do not want any insurmountable barriers, given the importance of community education in all of our communities. I am obviously new to the job but I will be interested in finding a resolution that will work for everybody.