Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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695. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on Trinity College’s policy (details supplied) which prevents any external tour guides from using the campus and/or Book of Kells for guiding purposes. [17314/24]

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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696. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on Trinity College’s policy (details supplied) which prevents any external tour guides from using the campus and/or Book of Kells for guiding purposes. [17315/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 695 and 696 together.

Under legislation, public sector Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous bodies and are funded in a variety of ways including state grants; competitive funding; tuition fees and commercial/private income streams

As the Deputy may be aware, through the HEA my Department allocates a range of funding supports to HEIs including recurrent grant funding (allocations provided towards operating costs each year) and funding for specific measures or activities, for example Capital Grants.

HEIs manage their own affairs including internal policies relating to activities on their campus. Neither I nor my Department have a role in forming these internal policies.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 697 and 698 together.

The International Education Mark (IEM) is a new quality education mark and part of a suite of legislative measures which are designed to protect international learners in Ireland. The IEM is a key pillar of the Government’s policy for international education, as set out in Global Citizens 2030: Ireland’s International Talent and Innovation Strategy to 2030.

The Mark is intended to promote confidence, both nationally and internationally, in the quality of the Irish education system. It will ensure that international learners enrolled with higher education and English language education providers are protected and receive a quality, consistent learning experience. Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), an agency under the remit of my Department, has statutory responsibility for administering the IEM.

English language education providers applying to QQI for authorisation to use the IEM will be required to undergo i) a Due Diligence assessment which will entail a review of corporate governance, financial resources and other legal obligations and ii) an assessment of compliance with the statutory IEM Code of Practice for Provision of Programmes of English Language Education to International Learners. For higher education providers with an existing relationship with QQI the IEM application process will comprise an assessment of compliance with the IEM Code of Practice for Provision of Programmes of Higher Education to International Learners.

To facilitate the rollout of the IEM, QQI has appointed a number of additional staff including a new Head of International Education. QQI is in the process of appointing external contractors with the requisite skills and experience to undertake all Due Diligence assessments and for the assessment of compliance with the IEM’s English Language Education Code of Practice. Assessments of compliance with the IEM’s Higher Education Code of Practice will be completed using existing QQI resources.

My Department is currently working with QQI to implement the key precursor measures that are necessary to facilitate the introduction of IEM. It is planned that the application process for the IEM will open to education providers before the Summer.