Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 719: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the HEA or HETAC has examined the way in which an equivalence of qualifications can be established where the academic qualifications of newly arrived non-EU immigrants as in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11 who has difficulty in having their qualification recognised for employment purposes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10071/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I understand that the person in question has not submitted an application to the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, NQAI, regarding the recognition of their Nigerian qualifications or to the Honourable Society of Kings Inns regarding professional recognition for employment purposes.

The NQAI has established Qualifications Recognition — Ireland as the Irish centre for the recognition of international awards. At the request of the Department of Education and Science, the authority represents Ireland in an international network of centres known as ENIC/NARIC, European National Information Centre/National Academic Recognition Information Centre, and NRP, National Reference Point, which promote the recognition of international awards.

The authority provides a service to advise applicants regarding the comparability of their award in Ireland, for employment purposes or to undertake further study in this country. It also acts as a first point of contact for persons seeking admission to the regulated professions. To avail of the recognition service, the applicant completes an application form and forwards copies of their award documentation. The authority, in collaboration with relevant national stakeholders, particularly the Further Education and Training Awards Council and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, and with the assistance of its international network partners, processes the application and upon completion, the applicant is provided with a statement which comments on their award and its comparability in Ireland. The service is advisory in nature, it continues to be a matter for an employer, outside of the regulated professions, or a learning institution to decide on whom to employ or admit.

Further information regarding the recognition service is provided on the authority's website on the recognition of international qualifications at www.qualificationsrecognition.ie. Prospective applicants are welcome to contact the authority for further information at any time.

For entry to a regulated profession, professional recognition is determined by a designated competent authority and generally made on a case-by-case basis. In this particular case, the competent authority is the Honourable Society of Kings Inns. I have been advised by that society that in line with EU directives on mutual recognition of professional qualifications, foreign qualified lawyers are required to undertake the qualified lawyers transfer test, QLTT, which enables lawyers qualified in certain countries to qualify as a lawyer in this jurisdiction. Lawyers eligible to sit the QLTT are those who are qualified under the terms of EU directives or those who are qualified in a country which is subject to a reciprocal recognition agreement with Ireland. There is no such reciprocal agreement in place with the Bar Council in the home country of the applicant in this case and, therefore, the applicant may be required to undertake the full training regime required of Irish graduates seeking to be admitted as barristers.