Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 250: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the progress made by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland; the reason so little progress has been made in 10 years by the NQAI to promote recognition outside the State of awards made by bodies in the State and recognition in the State of awards made by bodies outside the State; and the amount that this body has cost the State to date. [6712/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Qualifications Authority was set up in February 2001, under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999, and has therefore been in operation for 8 years. During that time the Authority has developed a national framework of qualifications governing all awards in the State from basic education to post doctoral level across the education and training sectors, together with the policies and criteria which underpin its operation. Launched in 2003, the Framework is under continuous development and remains central to the work of the Authority; Set out, in June 2004, a national approach to the recognition of international awards in Ireland; Established a one-stop shop for providing advice on the recognition of international qualifications in 2005 (www.qualificationsrecognition.ie). The centre provides information and an on-line application form to enable migrants to submit their qualifications for advice on comparability. It provides a database of international qualifications, information on the Irish education system and a referral point for those seeking recognition of Irish awards abroad. As more countries in Europe and elsewhere follow Ireland's lead in developing qualifications frameworks, this recognition service will be able to provide more information on international qualifications to individuals, employers and education and training providers.

Completed, in July 2005, an exercise with the quality assurance and certification agencies in Northern Ireland, England Wales and Scotland to align the levels of awards in the Irish framework with those in the UK and published a joint leaflet, Qualifications Can Cross Boundaries, for the information of learners, employers and education and training providers.

Completed the groundwork which led to a Mutual Recognition Agreement between China and Ireland relating to higher education qualifications being agreed in February 2006.

Developed policies and criteria for the inclusion in or alignment of international and professional body awards with the Irish framework of qualifications (Sept 2006).

Completed the verification of compatibility of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications in the higher education sector with the Bologna Framework (November 2006), becoming the first European country to do so. This work facilitates the recognition of Irish higher education qualifications amongst the 46 countries which are participating in the Bologna process.

Completed the alignment of a substantial range of UK awards with the Irish framework in 2008, notably City and Guilds, Edexcel, Scottish Qualifications Authority and Open University awards.

Work is ongoing to align the Framework with its New Zealand counterpart, which it is hoped will be completed this year. Preliminary discussions have taken place with the United Arab Emirates to explore the possibility of co-operation on qualifications recognition matters.

The Authority has also played a seminal role in the development of the European Qualifications Framework and has ensured that Ireland is well placed to have its awards included in the EQF as it develops. The Authority has begun the process of referencing the Irish framework of qualifications with the EQF, with a view to completing it this summer, and this will facilitate the recognition of Irish school, vocational and higher education and training qualifications throughout the 27 member states of the EU.

The Authority is networked extensively with national awarding bodies in other countries (European Network of Information Centres [ENIC], National Academic Recognition Information Centres [NARIC] and National Reference Points) and is the national centre in Ireland for EUROPASS. As the Irish ENIC-NARIC centre, the NQAI works on behalf of Irish citizens on an individual basis if notified by them that they are having difficulty securing recognition of their qualifications.

The number of formal qualifications recognition applications received by the NQAI from individuals has increased steadily over time, from approximately 300 such queries in 2003 to over 2,000 in 2008. While growing, these numbers do not reflect the full range of recognition services which are provided by the NQAI by telephone, e-mail or via their website. Phone calls and personal calls by individuals account for some 3,000 exchanges annually, email exchanges relating to recognition matters come to approximately 4,250 per year and in the final quarter of 2008 the website received over 40,000 hits.

The Authority publishes audited accounts on an annual basis and the following figures, which are taken from those accounts, show the cost to the State of the Authority since its establishment.

The figure for 2008 is estimated and the increase over previous years is mainly due to the transfer of responsibility for Qualifax, the national learner's database, to the NQAI on 1 January 2008.

I am satisfied that the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland has, since its establishment, been successful in promoting the recognition of Irish awards abroad and in providing a quality service to those persons wishing to have foreign qualifications recognised in Ireland. The Authority continues to improve qualification recognition services, for example through the deeper implementation of the National Framework of Qualifications, and to work with its counterparts in the EU and further afield.