Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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376. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that Quality and Qualifications Ireland has been holding briefings on the new engagement process for validating new and existing awards; that all programmes must be renewed within five years of initial validation; that the fee for re-engagement is €5,000 per centre, with a possibility of a change to €2,000 per award thereafter; that these fees are due again in full if the original presentation is not found to be acceptable; if QQI examined the potential of a sliding scale for Centres engaged in non-profit work; the total remuneration QQI is expected to receive for this process in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8058/16]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) published a white paper for public consultation on draft policy and criteria for the validation of education and training programmes in December 2015. The consultation period for this white paper closed in February 2016. QQI is currently finalising the new policies and criteria for validation and these will be published in the coming months.

QQI published its policy on how it would re-engage with 'legacy' providers in 2014. A legacy provider refers to an education and training provider that had a previous quality assurance agreement with any of QQI's predecessor agencies – the Further Education and Training Council (FETAC), the Higher Education and Training and Council (HETAC), the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) and the Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB).

The process of re-engagement involves agreeing revised quality assurance procedures with QQI in accordance with specified requirements as set down in the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act, 2012. The re-engagement process will allow legacy providers to demonstrate their capacity to provide and maintain, on an ongoing and sustainable basis, the infrastructure required to develop programmes consistent with national standards and to show that they have fit for purpose quality assurance arrangements in place.

The fees to be applied to legacy providers seeking to re-engage with QQI have yet to be determined.