Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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811. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if placements for nursing students from public higher education institutes are provided in private hospitals; the number of placements provided each year; the total provided by private hospitals; the number of placements in each hospital since 2011, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41636/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The data requested by the Deputy is not held by my Department nor the agencies under its remit.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are governed by the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technologies Acts 1992 to 2006 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. Within the meaning of these Acts, HEIs are autonomous with regard to management of their academic affairs.

Placements are organised at the level of each individual HEI, as part of their programme offerings to be delivered in conjunction with relevant placement providers. Where appropriate, each HEI will develop their programme offerings to meet the accreditation standards of relevant regulatory and professional recognition bodies including where placements are a requirement.

Responsibility and oversight for student placements lies with the HEI awarding the degree and Regulatory Boards with responsibility for the professions in question. As such, neither the Minister nor this Department has any role in administering placements, and this matter should be raised with the bodies in question in the first instance.

In addition, it must be noted that the Higher Education Authority do not hold information on compulsory placements on Higher Education Courses, while the Student Record System does not keep a record of placements.