John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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73. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if independently managed community education providers will be considered for a fee waiver during the re-engagement process with Quality and Qualifications Ireland; if this takes account of the difficulty the fee would cause community education providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31713/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is due to publish its policy in relation to re-engagement with its providers shortly. Re-engagement, or the formal agreement of quality assurance (QA) procedures with QQI, is a requirement for legacy providers, such as those referred to by the Deputy, under the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training ) Act, 2012. It will happen only once for a provider; thereafter the provider will have to undergo periodic review of the effectiveness of its QA procedures.

The re-engagement process will allow providers to demonstrate their capacity in respect of the development, ownership and implementation of their QA procedures, including the development of programmes and assessment of learners.

The fees to be applied to legacy providers seeking to re-engage with QQI have yet to be determined. QQI's proposals in that regard, and any associated issues, will be considered when they are made.