Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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232. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the qualifications of a dental hygienist are regarded as the same as those of a dental nurse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22485/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Courses for Dental Nursing and Dental Hygiene are offered at levels 5 to 7 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) either through the CAO or through direct application to the Institution in question. The National Framework of Qualifications is maintained by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) as a system of levels of awards. A wide range of awarding bodies, including the universities and QQI, have awards which are aligned with the Framework and they are responsible for setting out the standards associated with their own awards. However, in doing so they are required to ensure that those standards are in line with the overall standards associated which the particular level of the Framework to which an individual award is aligned. Learners must then achieve those standards before an award can be made. Therefore, all awards aligned with a level of the Framework, no matter the awarding body or educational institution concerned, should be broadly comparable in terms of the learning outcomes achieved by learners.

The following table sets out a list of institutions delivering courses in Dental Nursing and Dental Hygiene and their level on the NFQ. Further information on the content of these courses is available from the relevant institution or on Qualifax.ie.

Courses in Dental Hygiene and Dental Nursing