Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I, too, welcome our guests from Ardgillan Community College.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and his Department are committed to providing every support possible for Ukrainian citizens who are seeking the recognition of their qualifications in Ireland, be it to further their education, to pursue employment opportunities or to practise a profession that is regulated. Through the National Academic Recognition Information Centre, NARIC, Ireland, a service hosted and operated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, advice can be readily obtained, free of charge, on the academic recognition of foreign qualifications. This service compares foreign qualifications to major award types and levels on the Irish national framework of qualifications, NFQ, which sets these foreign qualifications clearly into an Irish context. QQI's NARIC database currently lists 18 Ukrainian qualifications, comparable to levels 3 to 10 on the NFQ, which includes general professional, further and higher education qualifications. NARIC Ireland is working with the wider NARIC network across Europe to continue building the list of Ukrainian qualifications, and this is a current priority.

When NARIC receives a request for the recognition of a previously unlisted qualification, once it is assessed, it is added to the list of published qualifications and is made readily available online. A guide to NARIC has been translated into Ukrainian and has also been made available in a wide range of other languages spoken by Ukrainians. The service provided by NARIC Ireland helps to inform employers if an applicant holds the academic qualifications necessary for a particular job or employment opportunity. Where a profession is unregulated, there is no formal barrier to prevent someone from continuing to practise his or her profession in Ireland. However, where a profession is regulated, such as the professions of doctor, nurse or teacher, for example, the decision to recognise qualifications rests with the national regulator or competent authority in question, such as the Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland or the Teaching Council. In these cases, the competent authority compares qualifications against the Irish regulatory standard to ensure the holder has the necessary skills and competencies to practise in Ireland. Ireland has over 45 such authorities covering a range of professions. A list of these professions, alongside the relevant contact information for each authority, is available on the Department's website.

Any Ukrainian citizen who wishes to practise a regulated profession in Ireland is advised to engage with the relevant competent authority with responsibility for that profession to seek the recognition of his or her professional qualifications. This is crucial to ensure Ukrainian people can pursue opportunities in their profession of choice. Indeed, many of these authorities have already reached out to engage with the Ukrainian community in Ireland and have published dedicated material on their websites to assist Ukrainian applicants. The Department has been providing critical support to the work of these competent authorities by sharing best-practice material supplied by the European Commission on recognition of Ukrainian professional qualifications. This includes working with and supporting these authorities as they implement the recently published Commission recommendation on the recognition of qualifications for people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This Commission recommendation was published last month and provides competent authorities with guidance and practical advice to ensure a quick, fair and flexible recognition process for Ukrainian refugees. In addition, these competent authorities have been advised of further information resources from NARIC Ireland that will assist in their work, alongside toolkits and resources developed by the EU and UNESCO to assist in dealing with cases of where refugees do not have complete evidence or documentation of their qualifications.

The Minister and the Department are continuing to work with our national competent authorities, their parent Departments, the European Commission and other member states on the recognition of professional qualifications of Ukrainian people and the implementation of the Commission recommendation to ensure an appropriate EU-wide response. I will bring the Senator's points regarding the Council of Europe and the International Criminal Court to the attention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, as well.