Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to return to the House to report on the amendments to the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill approved in Dáil Éireann. A total of 45 amendments were approved on Committee and Report Stages in the Dáil. They were all Government amendments. However, one of them provides for the inclusion in the Bill of the right of the Union of Students in Ireland to nominate a learner representative to the board of the new authority. That issue was originally raised in this House by Senator Averil Power and subsequently raised in Dáil Éireann by Deputy Brendan Smith. The Senator and the Deputy are both members of the Fianna Fáil Party.

A significant number of the amendments accepted in the Dáil involve either technical changes or textual corrections to the Bill. Section 51 has been added to the legislation in order to deal with joint awarding arrangements involving the new authority and other educational providers. This also required a number of consequential amendments throughout the Bill to ensure consistency of approach in respect of single and joint awarding arrangements.

The other issues covered by the amendments provide for the withdrawal of delegated authority to make an award; clarification about consultation between the Higher Education Authority and the new authority in particular instances; a change in the requirements for the composition of committees established by the new authority; and clarification on an amendment initially made in this House in respect of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. For ease of reference and as the Leas-Chathaoirleach stated, the amendments are grouped under seven headings.

The amendments in group 1 make explicit the new authority's power to make awards jointly with other awarding bodies. A joint award refers to a single award which is jointly made by two or more awarding bodies. Such awards are an important feature of the higher education landscape, both in Ireland and in an international context. They allow for flexibility in higher education provision and can also help to avoid potential duplication of provision across institutions. The development of joint awarding between institutions - whether in the same country or in different countries - has been promoted at international level through the Bologna process and also by means of the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region.

On a national level, there are some very good examples of inter-institutional co-operation. One such example is the memorandum of agreement reached between UCC, Cork Institute of Technology and HETAC in November 2010, whereby UCC and HETAC jointly validate programmes of higher education and make awards jointly in respect of such programmes delivered in collaboration between UCC and Cork Institute of Technology. The specific programmes are a master of science degree in biomedical science and a bachelor of science, honours, degree in architecture.

Amendment No. 18 inserts a new section into the Bill which will empower the new authority to enter into a joint awarding arrangement with an awarding body and the provider of the programme of education and training where such a programme is not provided by the awarding body. A joint awarding arrangement can only be entered into where a programme of education and training has been validated by the authority.

The other amendments which relate to joint awards are intended to ensure the same procedures will apply in respect of education provision leading to joint awards as applies to all other awards. The amendments provide for, inter alia, the validation of education and training programmes, the issue of quality assurance guidelines and effectiveness review procedures and the establishment of standards of knowledge or skill to be acquired by a learner where successful completion of these programmes leads to a joint award of the authority and other awarding bodies.