Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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168. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the recognised schools that will be exempted from paying into the proposed learner protection fund with regard to the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018; the criteria a school must reach to gain recognition (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38335/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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‘Recognised’ schools are those schools which are recognised by the Minister for Education and Skills in accordance with Section 10 of the Education Act 1998. This primarily relates to primary and post primary schools.

Recognised schools, as publicly funded schools, are currently exempt from Protection for Enrolled Learners (PEL) requirements under Section 65 of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012. While the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Bill 2018 proposes to substantially amend Section 65 of the Act of 2012 to facilitate the introduction of the Learner Protection Fund, there will be no change to the exemption for recognised schools. This is reflected in the Bill as published.