Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress made on the merger of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Further Education and Training Awards Council and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council; the number of redundancies within each agency envisaged by the successful completion of the merger; the estimated savings the merger will accrue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19253/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The amalgamation of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) was announced as part of the Government's programme for the rationalisation of agencies. The new organisation will also take responsibility for the external quality assurance review of the universities, a function which is currently performed by the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) and the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The budget announcement also refers to the possibility of including some of the related functions of the National University of Ireland (NUI) in the new organisation.

An Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) has been formed to advise my Department on the implementation of the amalgamation, comprising representatives of the NQAI, HETAC, FETAC, the HEA, the IUQB and the Irish Universities Association. The IAG has met on four occasions to date. My Department has had separate discussions with NUI.

A consultation paper has been prepared, with the assistance of the IAG, covering the functions and shape of the new organisation and key legislative considerations. A period of public consultation is planned, which is due to start very shortly and will conclude in June. My Department has also started work on the legislation necessary for the amalgamation. The target completion date for the legislative process is Autumn 2010, with the new statutory organisation to be established in Winter 2010.

Savings will arise from efficiencies achieved through economies of scale, the removal of parallel structures and streamlined and shared corporate services. Annual savings arising from the amalgamation are estimated to be in the region of €1 million, although it should be noted that it is likely that once-off up-front costs arising from the process will be incurred.

While the staffing requirements of the new agency have not been finalised, the three core agencies involved were requested immediately after the budget announcement not to recruit any new staff on a permanent basis. In addition, the recently announced moratorium on recruitments and promotions and incentivised early retirement scheme applies to the agencies. The impact of these measures on staffing levels will be kept under review and the situation will be examined when the staffing requirement of the new organisation is finalised.