Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 130: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the circumstances in which non-approved colleges and courses appeared on her Department's website; the colleges or courses that have now been removed; the steps she is taking to ensure that such errors do not occur again; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19653/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's website, to which the Deputy refers, contains a provisional list of courses which are approved by me in the context of allowing students from outside the European economic area and Switzerland access to the labour market.

My Department has recently commenced the compilation of a register of courses which meet criteria in relation to duration and quality. The register is now being used by the Garda National Immigration Bureau for the purpose of issuing work permits to eligible students. This register of courses is being updated on a monthly basis. New courses will be added and there will also be deletions from the register where courses are no longer found to meet the criteria.

Following a review of the register during May 2005, three courses which had been included in April were removed from the register in the light of new information received by my Department; 536 new programmes were added to the register in the same period.

I intend that the present arrangements, which are provisional, will operate until March 2006 when they will be reviewed pending emerging developments in relation to the implementation of the Report on the Internationalisation of Irish Education Services.