Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators. My officials and I have met Unite the Union. I have deliberated on our meeting and what came up. I have thought a lot about it. I share the concerns of Senators regarding the employment practices in the English language education sector, which have been brought to the fore in the context of the recent closure of Grafton College. We all want an English language education sector in which we have confidence to provide a quality education to students coming to Ireland to learn English. I fully agree that those working in the English language sector are central to the quality of that provision. None of us wants English language teachers to go without paid or being allowed access to the full suite of employment rights supported by the State.It is also important to recognise the respective roles and responsibilities in this important policy area. The issue of employment rights for English language teachers falls outside QQI's regulatory responsibility. It is not all within the remit of the Department of Education and Skills. I believe there was a debate here last night and the working conditions were raised by my colleague, Senator Maria Byrne, and by Senator Gerald Nash when the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, was here.

It is important that we recognise there is an extensive legislative framework in place in Ireland to protect employment rights, including for those working in the English language sector. There is also comprehensive industrial relations machinery in place for dealing with workplace relations issues, including collective bargaining at firm and sectoral level. It would not be appropriate to duplicate or undermine these statutory schemes through affording QQI powers in respect of matters beyond its viresto regulate. I note that Senators, as I said, have been discussing the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and I understand that the Minister, Deputy Doherty, gave a commitment last night that she would look at this area and meet the teachers from Grafton. This is going through. I understand it has to come back to the Seanad and it is important that this is raised again on Report Stage.

I wish to highlight again that the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill will further strengthen QQI's role as a regulator in the English language sector. The Bill provides for the introduction of the international education mark, IEM, and an associated code of practice for this sector. These will help to drive standards across the sector. It is specifically intended that the code of practice for the IEM will include provisions specifying that providers authorised to use the IEM will be compliant with their statutory obligations such as employment law. The Bill will provide QQI with additional statutory powers to examine a provider's financial sustainability. At present, when a provider engages with QQI, QQI's primary focus, in line with its existing legislative responsibilities, is to ensure that the providers' quality assurance procedures and the quality of its programme content meet the required standards. However, the new Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill will provide QQI, for the first time, with statutory powers to evaluate a provider's corporate fitness. These provisions will enable QQI to examine the bona fides of a provider in addition to assessing that the provider has the capacity and capability to implement the quality assurance processes and to provide programmes of education and training consistent with the requirements of the Act. Providers will have to satisfy QQI with regard to issues such as the legal personality, the ownership and the corporate governance arrangements in addition to examining whether adequate financial resources are in place to ensure the viability of their business. This will mean that only providers that satisfy QQI in these areas will have their quality assurance procedures approved by QQI. It is expected that providers who can demonstrate compliance in these areas are likely to be compliant in other areas outside of QQI's direct regulatory remit, such as employment rights. This will apply to English language providers seeking to access the IEM and, taken together, these measures are intended to reduce the likelihood of future college closures once the Bill is enacted.

Having made those relevant points, I fully recognise the importance of this issue and am willing to make two commitments here today. I accept the merit in the principle of the amendments being proposed by Senators Ruane and Ó Ríordáin and his Labour Party colleagues. However, the Department needs to reflect on the nature of the amendments to ensure that they are consistent with the role and responsibilities that QQI can legitimately be expected to fulfil. While it may not be possible to accept the full text of some of the amendments, I am willing to work with Senators to try to come up with a form of wording that will strengthen QQI's role in this area without involving that organisation in responsibilities that are more appropriate to other Departments and agencies. I request the Senators to allow my Department to have the opportunity to further consider these amendments with a view to reverting with a proposal on Report Stage. My officials will work with relevant Senators in this regard in advance of Report Stage.

Senators will be aware that the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 provides an opportunity for a registered employment agreement, REA, to be developed and registered with the Labour Court in order to regulate the pay and conditions of employment of workers specified in the agreement. The REA is a collective agreement between a trade union or unions of workers and an employer or employers on the pay and conditions of specified workers, which is registered with the Labour Court. The effect of that registration with the Labour Court makes the REA binding for subscribing parties. I am committing today to appoint an experienced mediator who would meet with bodies representing the employers and employees in the English language education sector to explore the potential for the registered employment agreement to be developed for workers in the English language sector. I wish to commence this process as soon as possible. This development will complement the provisions contained in the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill that are intended to strengthen QQI's role as a regulator of quality in the English language education sector. This would be a more appropriate and stronger vehicle to improve the terms and conditions of English language teachers rather than expecting QQI to fulfil responsibilities that are beyond its remit and the remit of the Department of Education and Skills. I hope Senators will support me in this regard.