Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1201. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who graduated without completion of placement hours in speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy in the past three years. [20413/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The information requested by the Deputy is not available to my Department. My Department's source of information on graduates is the HEA's Student Records System, which does not record information such as placement hours completed.

In the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, significant work was undertaken by a stakeholder group chaired by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), and including the representative bodies of education providers and students to address issues relating to the maintenance of the quality and standards of:

- teaching and learning,

- assessment, and

- qualifications.

This group focused on the implementation of alternative arrangements and methods of delivery, where appropriate and necessary, to meet both these standards and, where applicable, the educational accreditation criteria established by Professional Recognition Bodies (PRBs).

QQI facilitated engagement between members of the stakeholders group and CORU, the regulatory body for health and social care professions, which took place in parallel to direct engagements between CORU and individual education providers. The goal of these engagements was to ensure that, where possible, necessary alternative arrangements were in place to maintain the standards of education and training in this area and that these issues were actively managed. These efforts ensured that students could progress in their programmes from one academic year into the next, or, where relevant, graduate with the necessary professional competencies that have been set out by CORU.