Averil Power (Fianna Fail)

I accept the Minister of State's response on amendment No. 4. I will speak about the rationale for amendments Nos. 77 and 124.

Amendment No. 77 is concerned with the recognition of awards granted outside the State. While I accept that section 73 is capable of giving some recognition within the State to international rewards, such recognition does not appear to be as robust as that given within the framework; there seems to be a distinction between the two. There may be a need, therefore, for specific implementation powers for the authority to receive and adjudicate on applications from awarding bodies outside the State for the recognition of awards within the State. Such awards should end up with the same status as those which have gone through a similar validation process.

With regard to amendment No. 124, again I appreciate that there is no intention to take away from or diminish the status of international awards already aligned with the framework. That is clear and the Bill deals with awards already aligned with the framework following a formal process involving the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. It might be necessary, however, to amend the legislation to confirm in law the continuity of that recognition.

I would appreciate it if the Minister of State outlined the reasoning these issues do not appear to have been addressed in the Bill. Does he consider amendments are needed to ensure clarity and the status of international awards, in particular.