Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The term, "recognised within the Framework", arises from the policies and procedures the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, NQAI, has developed to underpin the national framework of qualifications. Initially, the focus was on including and recognising the awards of Irish statutory awarding bodies but the focus was broadened under the policies to encompass areas such as professional awards, awards of international awarding bodies such as City & Guilds and even industry awards such as those made by Microsoft. This open approach is relatively unusual in framework development internationally and would be regarded as quite innovative. It extends the possibilities offered by the framework to a much broader set of award holders.

Much of this has been possible because the legislative underpinning for the framework in the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 was simple. The Act allowed the framework to be elaborated through the policies and procedures of the NQAI and this is being continued in this Bill. Including this definition in the Bill might limit the capacity of the authority to develop new forms of recognition or adapt to international developments, which take place daily. The new authority will continue to work with partners to ensure and enhance the inclusive nature of the framework. That is important.