Results 1,921-1,940 of 5,098 for speaker:Mairéad Farrell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus lenár n-aíonna as teacht os comhair an choiste. I specifically welcome Ms Hanrahan on her final day and it could not be a nicer day. It is lovely to be in a basement on such a sunny day. I thank her very much for having come in here today despite it being her final day. I wish her all of the very best for the future and I am sure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: She does not know how she ever found the time to work. The issue that is coming out clearly from everybody is accreditation and people going into courses. I am new to this committee so I have a number of questions on that issue specifically. I can hear what people are saying, which is that there needs to be that national body which has that kind of oversight but at this point in time, do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: I thank Ms Hanrahan. For clarity, Ms Hanrahan said CORU has approved 73 courses. Three courses have been approved over time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: At this moment in time these colleges are not approved. Am I correct in saying that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: How many students are affected by that or have been affected to date?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: I believe we are all on the same page where we want everyone to be educated to the standard that is needed but the question here is how many students are being affected by this. Does anybody present have those figures and wish to contribute with those figures?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: On those 84 students, how much time had they done on the course at that point?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: That is very good. Professor Sheils indicated she wanted to come in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: How clear was this to those 84 students before they started? There is an element of having to do your own research before you start a course, but when people have just come out of school, they are not used to doing that kind of research. How clear was it to those students before they started that it would not have been accredited?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: When I did my leaving certificate, I did not get much career guidance at all, but most people coming out of school or most adult learners would assume that you are going to pay so many thousands of euro for something, you will be accredited at the end of it. Ms Hanrahan is saying that needs to be clearer. Could that be done legislatively to make it so that those private providers must tell...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: Was it to the provider rather than the students?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: I would like to ask a quick question on CORU's complaints mechanism, which I have been asked to raise. Could the witnesses please detail their complaints mechanism?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: It does. Is it simply that people can just easily get in contact with CORU on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: Unfortunately. That is good for us to know. It is important for us to hear what we can-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: Brilliant. Yes, that would be very helpful. Do I have time for another question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: I am not wearing my glasses, unfortunately I left them upstairs. My question is about the ask. We have the Department coming in for the next session, and the witnesses are saying that there needs to be an oversight body. Is that an ask of theirs from the Department or how do they feel that will need to be structured?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: My next question is about the streamlining of that process. My understanding is that with nurses, doctors and so on, it is done on something of an ad hocbasis. That is probably not the correct term but it seems that rather than having a fully streamlined process, there is a need to get people on board with bringing trainees in on placement. I am aware that everybody in the healthcare...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: One of the things we heard clearly in the previous session was about the oversight of the supervisory body. I ask for the views of the witnesses on that, both in terms of the accreditation of courses and about the other thing that came out towards the end of the last session, namely, placements and the streamlining of same. The witnesses in the previous session said that Tusla organise it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: When that was identified as a key barrier, was there an identification of the number of places that would have been impacted? Was it at that point that it was decided that we wanted to increase the numbers or was it just seen as constrained? Or was it seen as the case that at this point it was at maximum capacity?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Professional Accreditation of Higher Education Courses: Discussion (30 May 2023)

Mairéad Farrell: A few things came up in the earlier session. More generally, when people are coming into nursing for example, it is points-focused. We see in other countries that it can be done in more of an apprenticeship-type programme. How is the analysis of that and of our international comparisons going?